Three's Company
by haseoluver92
Summary: A love triangle between Kurama, Yusuke, and OC. It's rated teen for excessive language, and suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

Stepping off of the terminal, I brushed the obnoxious curls from my face as I began a frantic search for my cousin in the unfamiliar, congested Japanese airport. Not only had it been seven years prior since I'd actually been to Japan, this was the first time that I had visited this airport. And my cousin was seemingly no where to be found. Furiously gnawing at my fingernails, I began a senseless panic within my own paranoid mind. My original unease was now offset by the glooming fact that I was completely lost, my Japanese sucked, my cousin lacked the ability to tell time, and for Christ's sake I didn't even know where I was!

Letting out a final sigh, I randomly chose a gate and hefted my duffle bag over my shoulder, desperately hoping my cousin would be on the other side.

*******************

Fourteen year-old Yusuke Urameshi shoved his hands into his pockets as he gave out a form of defiant grunt towards his "friend" Kuwabara. Rolling his eyes, he quickened his previous lethargic pace to match that of Kuwabara's. Taking out one hand, he hung onto Kuwabara's shoulder and glared irately in his direction.

"Okay, so I get why you're here, but what exactly is my purpose for being here on a perfectly good SUNDAY1 afternoon when I could be sleeping, eating, or beating the living shit out of somebody?" Yusuke complained, releasing his hold from Kuwabara as he as he relaxed back to his initial pace, a few feet behind Kuwabara. Glancing up at flashing sign, he realized they were getting closer to the south gate. Kuwabara titled his head back and gave that of a halfway shrug.

"I told you, my cousin is flying into town and it's the first time in a while they've been to town in about six or seven years. So I want 'em to feel at home," explained Kuwabara, taking a sharp turn towards terminal eight. Yusuke clenched his hand into a small fist, and smirked silently as he imagined himself knocking the crap out of Kuwabara. The only thing that behooved him was the fact that he had brought him, instead of a closer friend like Kirishima, or he could've even have dragged Shizuru along for that matter! Why him? He thought, dragging his feet even more so than before.

Not only that, but Kuwabara was being particularly suspicious; Yusuke knew nothing about this so called "cousin" of his, other than the fact that the "cousin" (for some reason, Kuwabara had yet to reveal gender, but Yusuke had determined long ago that it had to be some butt ugly girl that would resemble Kuwabara) had previously lived here in her early years, and then moved, because of her father's work (it was divulged though, that her father was American and happened to be stationed on an overseas assignment for the military.) and because of parental issues (Shizuru mentioned something of a divorce?) she was coming back to visit for a few weeks, or was it months? Yusuke didn't know, and personally didn't care, but held onto a thin thread of hope that this "cousin", despite his original thought-process, would turn out to be an amazingly hot babe. And at that thought, Yusuke had to restrain a fierce laugh, realizing that the idea in itself was completely insane and absurd; I mean, she was related to Kuwabara, right?

It was then that Kuwabara stopped and grinned, "Dude, I think I see my cousin!" he exclaimed, bolting into the waiting area for the terminal. Yusuke sighed, 'Why do I even bother?' he thought, but as he followed Kuwabara, someone caught his eye, big time.

Standing out from the crowd, this girl had a rich caramel tan with long, lush black curls that were practically Shirley Temple ringlets that framed her face and draped eloquently behind her back. Her eyes were abnormally large, not to mention the lightest shade of brown, almost like amber, that he'd ever seen in his life, and it was almost as if they seemed to dance and sparkle when light shone upon them. Despite her exotic facial features, she was dressed very plainly, but this only seemed to enhance her beauty even more so. She had only a simple forest green tee, cut just above her collar bone, and that hugged her ever so tiny waist! It was so tiny that Yusuke could've sworn that he could fit his hands around it. But what she seemingly lacked in her waist, she definitely made up in her thighs! Yusuke snickered at this, but also realized she was very close to having a perfect hourglass figure. Giving an exasperated sigh, he thought how horrible it was that _**she **_wasn't Kuwabara's cou-

"Yo, Urameshi! Come here and meet my cousin, Kit!" Kuwabara shouted, pointing to the girl Yusuke had just seen.

*********************

I wasn't quite sure what to make of Kuwabara's friend as he ran over. It was as if he had mere animal instincts, despite the fact it was something I had become accustomed to seeing in most men, I just wasn't so certain that I wanted to associate myself with them anymore than I had to. He just looked so much of a school punk, but then again, Kuwa was basically the same…but at least he had morals! The boy's hair was slicked back greaser style, and she assumed in an act of defiance wore a green uniform rather than the issued blue. I began to mentally kick myself at my disgraceful prejudice, and tried to find good points on his appearance, and after a few moments of looking over, I found that that actually became easy and easier. His eyes were bright and honest, and dark brown hue, and his smile was very warm and inviting, two points that I held on high accord. It was a total shame that a guy with such potential had to be such a punk! But he walked up to me, his lips splitting into a wide smile, a cocky smile at that, but immediately threw a dirty glare in Kuwabara's direction. I chuckled, assuming that Kuwabara had forgotten, or just seemingly opted not to reveal my gender to his friend, but this only made me smile.

"Hey-o, I'm Yusuke Urameshi ,this guy's bud. So…" he hesitated, as his eyes flickered back and forth between me and Kuwabara, "you sure your _**this **_guy's cousin? You couldn't have gotten secretly switched or anything, could you? I mean, I hope you don't mind me saying, but you're way too cute to be this oaf's cousin!"

Flattering and cute, it really was a shame he was a punk, I thought as I processed the introduction. Although my mother primarily spoke in Japanese, I still had a difficult time understanding and speaking in Japanese. But I laughed as Kuwabara gave Yusuke a swift punch to the left shoulder.

Regaining my compsure, I answered, "It's a pleasure. I'm Kitiara, but you can call me Kit for short. And to your question, yes, I am Kuwabara's cousin." Yusuke smiled as he thumbed his nose. Damn his smile _**was **_cute, I thought as I subconsciously giggled. It was when I heaved my back to my non-sore shoulder, that Kuwabara actually entered the conversation.

"I'll be taking that," he said, taking my duffle bag filled with random goodness that had to weigh over 75 lb. Though I can say it was amusing to see Kuwabara attempt to carry it on the first try. While I knew Kuwabara could carry objects heavier than said duffle bag, I figured it still must have been a shock.

"Want me to carry that for you, big boy?" I asked teasingly. Kuwabara gave a defiant grunt, but before he could try to lift it again, Yusuke came and scooped it up in an instant as he slung it effortlessly over his bag as if it was a bag of feathers.

"I think I've got this one; got any other bags?" Trying my very hardest to contain myself, I nodded and murmured something of a "I'll go get them," as I darted off to the near baggage claim.

*************************

Yusuke on the other hand, couldn't refrain himself from grinning ear to ear; not only had his day just went from being disastrous to amazingly fantastic in a matter of ten seconds, he had just showed up Kuwabara without even trying! Though he'd never admit this to Kit or Kuwabara, her bag was surprisingly heavy. 'What the hell does she have in this bag?' he thought, slinging it over to his other shoulder as they waited for Kit to return with her bags. But it was then that Kuwabara began perversely glower at him.

"I HAD that, Urameshi," he said, his voice in a low growl.

Yusuke shrugged, his large grin still apparent, "Yah, right, because you soo had it. But at least this little adventure has divulged where all the good looks in your family went to," snickered Yusuke as he received another fairly good blow to his left shoulder.

"Watch it, Urameshi!" Kuwabara spat, as he began to roll up his sleeves.

"Hey, don't get upset at me, you're the one that wanted to so desperately introduce me to her!" he retaliated, though it was at this point that he wanted to thank Kuwabara a million times over for this one.

Kuwabara shook his head, "Dude, don't even think about messing with her. She'll beat the living crap outta you! I mean, you think that Keiko used to hit…o, sorry man, I mean…" Yusuke turned away as Kuwabara trailed off. Keiko, now there was a touchy issue if there ever was a touchy issue. It was only recently that things started to go downhill between them, right after his last mission. That entailed "the Four Saint Beasts", four of the ugliest, strongest brutes that Yusuke had ever faced in his entire life, and Yusuke practically had gotten killed for her! And what does she do? She goes and finds herself a boyfriend! And let's not forget, WITHOUT telling him! He found out accidentally when her threatened to beat Mr. "Yukito" to a pulp for needlessly hanging around what he thought was _**his **_girl. It was then that the piece of shit blabbed that Keiko and him had been going out for a few weeks already. Yusuke wasn't sure who he was more infuriated at; the man who stole Keiko away from him, or Keiko. And the fact that she was hiding all of this from him, was she not able to trust him? Did she feel as if he was going to forbid her to date anyone else? Of course not! (He would only do this because he thought she'd realize after a brief time that all the other guys would never compare to him.) But, even if this plan would've gone in play, it wouldn't have worked. It had already been four months and Mr. "Yukito" and Keiko had still been on great terms.

But alas, there is plenty of more fish in the sea, as they say, and he was quite amazed at the cute catch he'd just reeled in.

"So about how long does she plan on staying over at your guy's place?" he asked, breaking the prolonged silence. Kuwabara shrugged, clearly glad that the previous topic had been cast aside.

"About a year or so, when the divorce is final between her mom and dad. Then her mom is going to move from America and they're going to look for a home in this area," he explained, not quite sure if he liked the strange look that had crept into Yusuke's eyes as they widened to the size of golf-balls.

"A whole 'effing year!? Hell yah!"

*********************

As soon as I was out of earshot, I began to double over in an uncontrollable, hysteric laughter. It amazed me how much Kuwabara hadn't changed. After seven years, he was still trying to prove his manliness to me, like I didn't believe that he could be a man. And his friend…Yusuke was it? He seemed like an enormous show off himself, going and sweeping the duffle bag in one instant, I mean, not even my dad, the retired colonel, could do that! It was then that I realized that slowly, but surely, Kuwabara's friend was getting to me. I cursed silently at myself; I told myself not do that anymore! I could not look at every guy and examine what potential they did or didn't have! I COULD NOT! I repeated, hitting myself lightly on my forehead. After my last failed attempt at a relationship, I could not afford to make the same costly and fatal mistake that I had previously done.

Giving a quiet "squee!" as my bag rotated towards me, I quickly grabbed it and hugged it tight to my chest. It was filled to the brim with all my babies!! My manga!! O my heroine of heroine, this was just what I needed to get my mind off of everything and unwind once I get back to the apartment! I thought as I trotted back towards the guys, who were apparently still arguing like a bunch of squabbling five year olds.

"Hey hey! No fighting on my first day!" I said, making an effort to sound angry as my hand flew to my hips. Yusuke merely shrugged it off, while Kuwabara's eyes were still fixed irritably upon Yusuke.

"O-kaay, so I assume we're going to go nab a taxi or something?" I quickly asked, trying my very hardest to change to subject, or to at least distract the both of them. It was then that both of them adorned a curious expression as though I had just questioned their gender.

"Taxi? You've got to be kidding me; taxis cost MONEY, something that neither me or Kuwabara have. We gotta walk from here to there, sorry to say, but don't worry, the apartment is only about a mile and a half from here," Yusuke replied, and was that at an attempt of reassurance with the _**only **_a mile and a half?! Suddenly it was as though my bag instantaneously gained 100 lb, and I could feel my jet-lagged legs beginning to give way at the thought. Kuwabara seemed to have read my mind, because he immediately asked if I needed someone to carry my bag. I shook my head defiantly; Despite my "not looking forward" to walking a mile and a half with a suitcase, I was honestly more concerned about Yusuke, whose bag was ten times as heavy as the one I was carrying. It was going to be a major pain to have to heave that thing for that distance.

"Well, if it's possible, maybe you two could alternate back and forth with the duffle bag, it's pretty heavy and it'll really hurt your back," I offered. A smirk played on Yusuke's lips as he responded.

"Nah, sissy pants over here would pass out from exhaustion if he even tried to carry this massive thing. Don't worry about it, I've got this under control," Kuwa glowered, as if he was about to slug Yusuke once more, but refrained after the look I shot at him. While I didn't approve of Yusuke toting that thing all that way, it really was quite nice of him. Definitely something that American guys would NOT do, nor even attempt to ask, unless they found the girl attractive, but Yusuke even declined the offer of letting Kuwabara helping him. Maybe guys here were a bit different…suddenly I realized the impossibility of the latter. Boys will always be boys.

I'd never walked so far in my entire life! Run, possibly, but walk with a 20 lb bag, never. The thought had never even crept into my mind, and yet, here I was, trudging along and not even holding my bag anymore (they must think I'm totally weak!). I personally blame the jet-lag, because, if I had been back in America, it would be 5:30 in the morning! (And I would so be asleep!)

"You two are utterly ridiculous," I muttered quietly to myself as I continued to walk, feeling as though I could fall asleep on my feet at any given moment. But luckily for my sake, I could see that same old apartment cresting over the top of the hill. God, nothing has changed around here. Not like back in the States, where every year something new had been added, or homes destroyed, and in there stead a new shopping mall or school. Kicking in on reserves, I began to sum up my last bit up strength to run up the hill and up the stairs as I dashed into apartment and into the living room.

It was as if I had just turned the clock back seven years. Pictures still hung in the exact same spot, the television hadn't migrated at all, and that same old, green couch was positioned smack in front. And not only that, but my favorite girl in the whole wide world was still sitting there, beer in one and a cigarette in the other. My lips split into a wide, toothy grin that rivaled that of the Cheshire cat's as I proceeded to tackle said girl.

"Shizuru-nee!2" I squealed as, giving her a tight squeeze as I embraced her. Shizuru gave a half-way smile as she placed her beer down, returning the favor.

"*Hmph* About damn time, I thought my fool of a brother might have gotten you lost, or worst forgotten about you! And what's with the "Shizuru-nee"? You seem to be the only one that calls me that! So how's things been going?" she asked, now tearing me away from my grasp as she plopped me down on the other side of couch. The couch in itself was really more of a love-seat, meaning it was only big enough to seat two normal sized people. I grinned, the sleepiness slipping away bit by bit. I didn't know where to begin. But somehow I found a place to start (like at the fourth grade!) when Kuwabara and Yusuke entered the room.

"Hey sis! Kit, we put your bag in the spare bedroom, if you don't mind," Kuwabara said, sitting himself down on opposite from us in one of the two recliners. Thinking that Yusuke was going to do the same, I didn't bother to scoot to the back of the couch as I continued to babble on to Shizuru on practically useless nonsense when Yusuke did the most peculiar thing. He sat right next me! He squeezed his big butt (or rather, small Asian butt) right in between me and the arm rest of the couch! I cocked one eyebrow in that of confusion towards his way, while Kuwabara did the same, but as Yusuke grinned broadly, I don't think the air-head noticed the tension. I then tried to continue the conversation, but I couldn't help but feel a tad nervous about Yusuke being so close.

Shizuru noticed my silence, "So, you were telling me about your dad?" she asked, trying to bring me back in, (also throwing a skeptical look towards Yusuke's way) and taking a strong puff of her cigarette.

Snapping back into the mood of things, I tried to recall what it was I was originally talking about before I was interrupted. "O, right, well…well, you know how it is between those two. I don't think there ever was a real time that they truly got along. Mom has had it hard since we moved to the States, plus, she was pretty, well, uncomfortable with dad's old job to say the least. Dad wouldn't hear anything of it, and kept constantly trying to tell her it would get better when it wouldn't…and I just don't know anymore," I explained, zoning off. Deep down, I knew it was going to eventually going to come to all of this. Our family had never been a "Cleaver"3 family if you catch my drift. Not that that ever bothered me, but I always had a sinking feeling that the dream was always going to end sometime or another. That one day I was going to wake up from it all. And it sure did abruptly end. Not to mention the fact that Dad was fuming at the thought of me moving to Japan. But I didn't feel the need to tell Shizuru all of _**that. **_She was probably already worried enough as it was, and I didn't need to go and making it worse for her. But it was then that I felt a weight on my shoulder; glancing back, I saw it to be Yusuke's hand. I knew all boys were the same.

"Excuse me?" I said, taking his hand from my shoulder and twisting it as hard as I could.

"Yowch! Damn it that hurt!" Yusuke shrieked as he retrieved his hand from my clutches.

"Don't even dare to think about pulling something like that again," I replied sweetly, the fakeness of it all dripping from my words. Yusuke was about to retort when Shizuru glanced at her watch.

"Well what do you know, it's already past little Yusuke's bed time. Well squirt, you better start heading your way back home. You know that tomorrow's school, and if you skip even one more day of school, your mom is going to have yours, and my hide so you better get," she stated as a matter of fact-ly, using her cigarette as a baton and pointing it towards the door. Yusuke gave a reluctant nod, as he quickly waved goodbye, and if I wasn't mistaken, a smile was thrown my way. I could feel my heart do a loop-de-loop and jump up my heart as the door slammed shut. Damn punk, I thought bitterly, feeling the insane urge to want to chuck something hard and blunt in his direction. Shaking the feeling, I jumped up and stretched my arms to the ceiling.

"Well, if you peeps don't mind, I think I'm going to take a loong relaxing shower, and hit the hay! (You have no idea how tired I am! Jesus I hate plane rides!!) And for the record, your friend is insanely weird Kuwabara, just wanted to let you know…o, and since you said that I can start school tomorrow, I'll go pick out my outfit for the first day of school as well!" I said gleefully, doing an almost half skip-jog kind of thing towards their bathroom.

Their bathroom was a bit on the small side, but in a rather, cozy, homey, inviting sort of way. The walls were painted a crimson red, with gold fixtures and accent pieces with a long red and gold shower curtain that draped onto the floor. Everything was completely coordinated, and I had the bizarre feeling like I had just stepped into an HGTV4 show. But, placing that aside, I began to peel my sticky shirt from my absorbent body when I felt something oddly furry rub up against my ankles. In a mixture of shock and anxiety, I almost let out a loud scream, but stifled myself at the last second, wanting to laugh at myself for the mistake.

"Eichii-chan!" I squealed, scooping the small cat into my arms, cradling it like that of a small child. Eichii was Kuwabara's kitten (and for those of you that remember, he even resorted to stealing to get her back, Yusuke came in and saved the day on that one) and most prized possession. The kitten was completely calm as she curled up, utterly relaxed, not even to mind the fact that I was a stranger in her home, and one that she'd never seen before at that. And God was she adorable! I gave out a small squeal as I gave her a small squeeze. Eichii was definitely well groomed, her fur did not shed when stroked, and she even had a charming red collar with a tiny gold painted bell that rang whenever she moved. Stroking the back of her ears, I suddenly felt lonesome for my own cat, whom I had reluctantly left back in States.

He was a rather small orange tom whom I had happily named Marmalade under the delusion that he was a female, rather than male. (It was only a few months later that we discovered that he in fact, was not a girl, talk about awkward!) So as a slightly manly nickname, we called him "the Marm" or "Marmy" for short . Since he was an outside cat, he was considerably rougher, and loved to scratch and tear viciously at people that he did not know, or were coming too close to his territory for his own liking. He and I would get into a multitude of fights, but in the end, I would always find a way to victory. But, when he was calm, (or rather, when he felt immensely tired or just didn't feel like fighting) he would curl up in your arms and allow you to pet him for a short time. It was on that note that I released Eichii from my arms and I quickly shooed her from the bathroom. Despite the fact that I believed all cats were incredibly cute and adorable, not to mention the fact that I loved them all dearly, there was nothing worse than a dog or cat staring intently at your naked body while trying to a take a relaxing shower.

Turning on the water, I stayed right on the outside of the tub, testing the water; unlike most people, my biggest pet peeve was boiling hot water running down my backs. Call me crazy, but I don't like being hot (or being "well done" for that matter), being hot always aggravated me, not to mention it was one of the few times my mind would venture into places my mind did NOT need to wander into, if you get what I mean. Stepping in, I immediately winced at the cold water that sprayed obnoxiously into my face, remembering that I was considerably shorter than Kuwabara and Shizuru (a little too late at that). And then, one by one, the tension seemed to melt away with the water as I became incredibly tranquil as I merely let the water run down my body. This was how I kept my sanity for the most part; some call it meditation, others call it contemplation, I just call it "zoning out". It was my way of forgetting the problems of the day, but unfortunately, when I was about eight, I had developed a bad habit of "zoning out" while people were talking to me, or in school; this in turned creeped out most of my friends and made my parents even more paranoid than on average, so I began the habit of doing it in during my showers.

Snapping out of the "zone" I squirted a bit of shampoo and started to scrub my hair furiously, trying perversely to get the long ends. While doing so, I pondered on the conception of actually blow-drying my hair tonight, that would at least straighten my hair from obnoxious curls to defiant waves (wavy hair). I was absolutely positive that I looked one hundred percent better with straight(er) hair. Thinking upon how much I despised my own hair, I gathered that almost every girl hated their own hair, no matter who compliments us (with the exception of cheerleaders, who truly believe they are God's given gift to the world). I gave a half way laugh as I turned off the shower (of course after washing, you dirty people) and I attempted to grab my towel, but of course, me being the klutz that I am, I felt the need to slip on my wet shirt, almost busting my ass on the concrete tile. Swearing quietly to myself, I quickly snatched my towel and wrapped it around me, hoping that no one heard me.

Opening the door, I peeked outside to make sure that no one was around, and I dashed towards the spare bedroom, while almost tripping over Eichii during the process. I slammed the door behind me, giving an exasperated sigh. I decided to braid my hair quickly, just to keep it from my eyes as I slipped into an undershirt and my "Hello Kitty" underwear, straight from the underground of Okinawa. Glancing in the mirror, I came to harsh realization that "Hello Kitty" was slowing turning into "Hello Garfield" during these past few years of ice cream and cake. Making a mental note to wear loose jeans for school, I decided to begin my hunt. I had to make a good first impression, the problem was, what impression did I exactly wish to make?

After about thirty minutes, I felt confident that I had narrowed it down to two different shirts, or rather, one blouse and one t-shirt, and a pair of jeans (a pair of loose jeans, mind you). The blouse had a dark orange spaghetti strap that matched my skin done fantastically, with a plaid (dare I say "jacket" with short sleeves?) jacket on top of it. It was particularly girly, but it wasn't quite convinced that I wanted to look _**that **_girly for my first day of school. Not on the first day at least. But then the other one…my eyes flickered back and forth. The other "t-shirt" was a dark black shirt with the words "Trust Company5" inscribed in white on the shirt. Though I could say that I had a biased liking to this shirt, it being one of my favorite punk rock band from the U.S., I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to look like a punk on the first day either…

It was then that I heard a repetitive knocking on my door, and noticing that I was still only in my "Hello Kitty" underwear and undershirt, I quickly reached for my "Green Day"/ "Blink-182" concert t-shirt and a pair of baggy PJ pants.

"You can come in now!" I called, still baffled on what to wear tomorrow. The door slowly creaked open, and I could see Kuwabara popping is head through the crack.

"Uh, what are you doing?" he asked, after seeing that he was walking into safe territory. I rolled my eyes.

"Duh, I'm picking out an outfit for school! Now which one do you think I should wear, I honestly can't pick…O what am I asking you for? Where's Shizuru…?" I trailed off, still fixated on the two different shirts. While it was apparent that Kuwabara didn't approve in my night wear, he still appeared as though something was still bothering him.

"Uh, Kit, you do know that--"

1 In Japanese schools, their school days are from Monday-Saturday, leaving Sunday their only day off.

2 "Nee" is a horrific for "older sister" like that of "nee-chan", it can be used at the end of someone's name. The same also applies for older brothers like "Kuwabara-nii".

3 Cleaver family is referenced from an old television show called "Leave it to Beaver" where his family, the "Cleaver" family was that of almost a perfect family.

4 HGTV is a Home and Gardening TV network.

5 Trust Company is a punk rock band from Alabama, one of they're more popular songs is "The War is Over" from the album "True Parallels".


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

"You've got to be out of your 'effing skull!" I shrieked, horrified to every extent. My worst nightmare had suddenly come true. In Kuwabara's hands, my own cousin's hands, my own KIN, in his hands…It was then that Shizuru stomped in, wondering what the unneeded ruckus was about.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" she demanded, clearly peeved, and had clearly just been woken up from a nap, or sleep, I could never tell with Shizuru. Kuwabara took a step back.

"Listen, I know you're not used to it, hell, I know you don't even like it! But you _**have **_to wear it! And all the girls do, so it's not like you'll stick out or anything!" Kuwabara replied in almost a whimper, inching towards the door as he held up the atrocious, the repulsive, sailor fuku! Or as we Americans better know it as, _**uniforms**_! I began to shudder in a cold sweat; I had forgotten that almost all Japanese public schools forced their teenagers to wear such God-awful things for seven hours of six days.

"Won't stick out? Dear God Kuwabara you must be blind! I think my thick American accent and what is this? TAN SKIN! That's right! TAN! I'm sure that's going to blend in wonderfully with all you light olive skinned people!!" I cried furiously, almost in a half sob, brimming with frustration. But it was then that I realized that I was overreacting ever so slightly (just ever so slightly now) and not only that, but I was scaring the mess out of Kuwabara. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, hoping that I would calm down as I took a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Opening them, I felt just a bit calmer, not a lot, but enough to keep me going in a normal conversation without flipping out. "Sorry about that, Kuwa, it's not your fault. I'm…I'm just going to bed, I'll see you two in the morning," I said, shooing both of them out, flipping the lights off and flopping onto my new bed. The bed was soft, but somewhat unfamiliar. I was used to a dark blue star comforter, surrounded by blue walls with pictures of oceans at dusk adorning them (it always behooved people when I would tell them that blue was actually not one of my favorite colors), but it wasn't like the bed bothered me, it was just…new to me, if you will. But for some peculiar reason, despite the fact that it was not my room, it was the first time in a long time that I had felt at home. My mind drifted, and it ended up on Yusuke. His sweet smile, his slicked back, black hair, and his bright brown eyes. Smiling to myself, my subconscious secretly hoped that we would become friends as I drifted off into dreamland.

*****************

If anyone had sat down and watched Yusuke that morning, most would've concluded that he worse than any girl when it concerned his hair. He must've have spent at the very least (which was highly unlikely) an hour on it, before messing it up completely and slicking back like usually before it was satisfied. He really had the strangest desire to look exceptional for Kit (this desire had never come over him before, at least, not for a girl). But man, did he NOT expect that reaction from her when he just barely placed his arm around her. Her grip hurt like hell! (For a girl at least, if Yusuke had to measure her, she probably had about the strength of most normal guys.) As he thought, he subconsciously began to smile as he began to button up his unified uniform. 'Guess I'll just have to work my way up to her,' he thought as he slung his bag over his shoulder and was just about to say he was leaving when he realized that would have been as pointless as him actually attempting to do his homework.

His mother, Atsuko, was passed out drunk on the living room floor, with two others close by her side. Beer bottles, cans, empty chip bags, and cigarettes adorned the floor. Yusuke wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't wake up for the next few days. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the nearest blanket and threw it over his exhausted mother. Sometimes he wondered who was the child and who was the parent in their relationship. But in all actuality, it was though neither was a parent, but two lost teenagers who really didn't know what was going on in life. But Yusuke shrugged that afterthought from his shoulders and he marched through the door and into the insanely bright and sunny morning.

Did he mention insanely bright? The sun's obnoxious rays were blinding as Yusuke had to wait a few moments to let his eyes adjust to the light before moving for fear of falling down a flight of stairs. But one pro about it being sunny, was the long shadows that came with it. And shadows meant easy hiding spots, especially from hiding from Keiko. As he trotted on, he remembered vaguely a few times (before his spirit detective days) hiding within the shadow's of large oak trees and scaring the bejeezes out of Keiko. He gave a sad laugh as he remembered the delight he would receive from her petrified expressions. But all of that didn't matter anymore, seeming as though that he just simply avoided her all together. None the less, he was still bothered by the fact that he hadn't spoken to her in the past four months, not properly at least. It wasn't as if he _**liked **_avoiding Keiko, but every time that he found a chance to see her, that God damn Yukito was always lingering close behind. Yusuke thought of Yukito like a really bad hangnail; if you pulled it out, your finger would squirt blood and have that tingly feeling for the rest of the day or week, depending on the gash, but if you didn't pull it, it would keep bothering you until you eventually pulled it. Yusuke knew deep down that if he tried to break up Keiko and Yukito, then Keiko really would never speak to him again. But if he let them stay together, he couldn't stand the sight of them with each other made him sick and he would avoid her. Either way, Yusuke lost, and Mr. "Yukito" would inevitably win.

He ran up towards Kuwabara's house and felt the need to ring the doorbell about fifty gazillion times before Kuwabara finally opened the door, a bit perplexed, but more aggravated than perplexed; for it was normally Kuwabara waiting on him to show up, and Yusuke being early was a miracle in itself.

Personally, Yusuke wanted to double over in laughter after seeing Kuwabara with Eichii in his arms as he opened the door, but nothing was more irritating and extensive than Kuwabara's speech on "manliness", so he refrained as he walked in, raising his eyebrow at Shizuru who was already smoking a third cigarette for the morning.

"Hey guys…haven't you been packing those things a bit much?" he asked, feeling slightly hypocritical as he felt the urge to grab one himself. Shizuru shrugged it off, not responding, or even looking in his direction for that matter, but Yusuke didn't care. "Anyhoo…so where's Kit?" Kuwabara glanced back at Yusuke as he placed Eichii down on the ground, shooing her off.

"I don't think she's quite ready yet. Man, don't tell her this, but I didn't think she was going to flip out like she did! I know she doesn't like the whole idea of "uniforms", but she went 'effing ballistic!" he exclaiming, flopping down on the couch. A frown crept across Yusuke's face.

"Wait, so you're telling me that they _**don't **_wear uniforms back in America? I thought it was a universal thing, you know, like…wearing socks or something." he asked, not quite following Kuwabara's comments.

"They do, but it's not common for public schools to force their students to conform to a particular idea that they won't appreciate or particularly care for. How's it going, Urameshi-kun1, I didn't hear you come in." Yusuke turned his attention to the hallway in which Kit was standing in. Sharpe tongued and attentive at seven o'clock in the morning? He thought as he examined her, his eyes glancing over her up and down. Her hair was definitely neater today, most of the curls seemed to have been brushed out, but it wasn't to say that it was straight. It was more of a wavy style now, instead of Shirley Temple curls, she has large, almost model waves that cascaded down her face as hung on her shoulders. But it wasn't her hair that seemed to be the issue, it was the uniform. It, like her shirt, hugged and flattered her waist, and the skirt even made her thighs look smaller. Personally, Yusuke liked the change, where as before she looked as though she was a typical fifteen year old (a very hot fifteen year old, none the less), here she looked about five years older. Or at least she would have, if it weren't for the impudent scowl that sneaked its way onto her face, an expression Yusuke noticed as one that he typically had. But, that being said, it definitely did NOT suit a pretty girl like Kit, in his opinion.

"O come on, you don't look that bad, in fact, I think you look great! And don't worry about calling me "Urameshi-kun", Yusuke is fine," he said at an attempt at coaxing a smile back out. He was rewarded.

She smiled slightly, as if she were wanting to laugh or giggle, but she remained composed. "Thanks, but I don't like skirts. I've always been so subconscious ever since I was about ten when a guy flipped my skirt and almost the entire class saw my bright pink underwear," she explained. Though Kit was relaxing, Yusuke suddenly felt about ten degrees hotter in the during the past minute. Quick flashbacks of his degrading Keiko in moments of skirt flipping made him suddenly slightly regret his previous actions. He had no idea girls got so subconscious to never wear skirts again because of something like that. On that note, Kuwabara was apparently thinking along the same lines and was cackling up a storm. Kit, unfortunately for her, was completely clueless.

"Huh? What is it something I said? Did I mispronounce something again? Dear God what the hell are you laughing about Kuwabara! Tell me!" she demanded, she too becoming flushed like Yusuke, but for contradictory reasons. Tears streamed down Kuwabara's face as he muttered something of a "Inside joke, don't worry about it."

Yusuke, in desperation to change the subject went to his last resort, "Uh…we had better get going before we're…late, that's right, late!" Kuwabara immediately ceased laughing and he and Shizuru began to stare at him like one would at a UFO or an unknown object (or something ridiculously shiny).

"You, not wanting to be late. No, wait, let me rephrase that, Yusuke Urameshi, actually wanting to go to school! Have you been drinking some of Atsuko's alcohol or doing some random drugs? Or maybe you've been possessed by a demon!" Kuwabara said, listing all the obvious explanations of Yusuke's bizarre behavior. Yusuke's cheeks tinted a light red. Leave it up to Kuwabara to completely make him look like a complete and total idiot.

"I…I just want to make sure Kit isn't late for her first day of school! I couldn't give a rat's ass if I went or not. I'm sure none of the teachers would miss me even if I didn't show up! In fact, they'd probably die of a heart attack if I actually attended once in a while!" Yusuke defended defiantly, almost tempted to stick his tongue out a Kuwabara, but for fear of looking like a three year old in front of Kit, he stopped himself just in time. Glancing at each other, Kuwabara and Shizuru simultaneously shrugged their shoulders as Kit looked confused as usual. But before they walked out the door, Kuwabara stopped and turned back towards Shizuru.

"O, yah, sis, we're probably be a bit late coming back from school today; I plan on showing Kit to Ku-I mean Shuichi, over at his school after our school ends. If that's okay?" Shizuru nodded, taking a swig of her beer as they walked onward towards the opening day.

********************

I don't like wearing skirts; period. But the up side to all of this crazy madness was that at least Yusuke thought it looked decent on me. I can't really count on Kuwabara for clothing based opinion. He would more or less tell me something looks good even if I were to come out in a potato sack, that's just how he is. (Also, Kuwabara has an "older brother" mode that kicks in, so whenever he thinks I'm being too "revealing", which normally entails a quarter of an inch of my belly showing, he'll demand that I immediately take off whatever I was wearing or he'd loan me something of his. It has happened numerous times before, and for the sake of my sanity, and my lack of motivation, Kuwabara typically would win every fight.) I had concluded that you really couldn't depend on relatives for stuff like that.

As we walked, the morning's rays beamed down upon us, it was almost as if I had stepped into a movie scene, or rather, a Disney scene. You could see the squirrels frolicking and hear the birds singing happily as they flew through the air. I had to think back to remember if I took any form of medication this morning, maybe I took a wrong pill, or too much of one pill, because this was not normal in my book. But despite my slightly pessimistic view on life, the morning seemed fairly cheerful as I simply listened in on Kuwabara's and Yusuke's conversation. But as we stopped for a cross walk, I saw something run swiftly across from the corner of my eye. But upon turning around, there was no one to be found. I focused in on my surroundings, took a deep breath, and realized a life force unlike mine, Yusuke's, or Kuwabara's was near, very near.

"Hey Kuwabara, did you just sense something right now?" I asked, remembering that Kuwabara was very in tuned with the spirit world and a very apt sixth sense. Kuwabara formed a frown, but then in a moment of realization he snapped his fingers.

"Hey Yusuke, would you look at that, it's the shrimp!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the top of the lamp post that I was seemingly standing next to. I whizzed around, and sure enough, there indeed was someone there. It was that of a young boy, perhaps around the age of fifteen or sixteen, give or take about ten years (I personally have been horrible at guessing age). His hair was a rich black that was spiked in various directions, it made me wonder if his hair naturally did so, or if he went through about twenty bottles of gel a week. While I realized Yusuke wasn't very tall himself, the boy seemed to be a bit weak in the height area, about an inch shorter than myself. (So I wasn't the shortest person here!) But his eyes! I'd never seen such a color, such brilliance, and so much emotion in my entire life! Glassy and captivating, his eyes were like that of garnets that shimmered in the sun's rays. And it was odd, his face seemed as if it showed no emotion, completely blank, but his eyes were brimming with so many emotions swirling around. Sadness, anger, abandonment, and so many more. But my train of thought was broken as he hopped down (it made me wonder how he go there in the first place) and handed what appeared to be a VHS tape to Yusuke.

"Hiya Hiei! What's up?" Yusuke asked, his mood unaffected by the visitor, and it was safe to say that Yusuke was happy to see him. Though it fairly easy to conquer that the other boy either felt indifferent about the meeting, or just wasn't fond of Yusuke, for his facial expression remained static. Kuwabara on the other hand, gave an evil smile.

"O! Kit, I'd like you to meet Hiei…the squirt! Not to mention the fact that he's mean, nasty, antisocial…" I stopped listening after "antisocial" and I stepped up to meet this "Hiei".

"Hello! I'm Kuwabara's cousin, Kit. I just want to apologize for him, I'm sure he's caused you immense amounts of trouble. But don't fear! I have found a solution that fixes any problem when dealing with him! (Especially when it comes to mean jabs at my height!) And I've found the best way to remedy all of this-" I stopped midway in sentence, for feeling that actions spoke much louder and more profoundly than words, and punched Kuwabara square in the stomach. Hiei's eyes grew ever so slightly larger and if I wasn't mistaken, I could've sworn for a instance I saw a small grin flicker across his face as Kuwabara held his stomach.

"See, problem solved with little effort!" I stated simply, as I grinned at this new found "friend". While no words sprang forth from his mouth, his eyes once again did the talking as they appeared to tell something of a "well done". But I could just be going crazy, that was certainly an option. After that, Hiei pulled Yusuke aside and began to whisper about something or another, but I wasn't bothered. Not only was I used to people whispering behind my back (AKA my parents), but I wasn't particularly nosy, as long as I didn't think you were talking about me, and especially if I didn't know you that well. But this was only for a moment and Hiei waved a quick good-bye and was off like a black bullet. And as I began to ponder about him, it made me realize that I actually had not heard him speak! I tried to imagine what his voice would sound like, but I couldn't picture anything. I didn't have much of an imagination for stuff like that, but I could say that he definitely was NOT as bad as Kuwabara described.

Kuwabara, in returned gave out moan, "God dang it Kit, why the hell did you do that?! I haven't made a stab at your height (or in this case your lack of) in about forever!" Narrowing my eyes, I folded my arms.

"Because, you can't go calling people that! What if he was really sensitive about it? (Though it appeared as though he didn't care…but that's beside the point!) Besides, I thought he was your friend?" I replied, not unfolding my arms, but my expression shifted as Kuwabara scoffed at my last comment.

"Yah, that's gonna happen when Hell freezes over. Hiei doesn't have any friends, the guy hardly speaks (unless he's insulting someone!) as you've seen. But on another note, what did he give to you Yusuke?" Kuwabara asked, recovering from the blow as he walked over to him. Yusuke shrugged, but appeared as though he sent out the look of "I'll tell you later". I wasn't concerned.

The school was nothing I could've imagined in my entire life. You'd think that it was a mini college campus at the size of it. Just from the outside I saw over three floors, and it seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon just looking up at it. But that so much wasn't what bothered me, I knew that America had it's fair share of big schools, it was how creepy uniformed everyone appeared. Like as if I had walked into a cult, and everyone was eyeing the newbie, God what crazy conformists! This was definitely a down play in my book, and it wasn't too long afterwards that Kuwabara introduced me to some of his other friends. They were…nice, I guess. That was about the only way I could describe them. I really can't think of anything else to say. There wasn't anything that stood out about them, so they didn't really stick in my mind like Yusuke and Hiei. But sometime when I was talking to a teacher, I saw from the corner of my eye Kuwabara hit one of them over the head. When questioned, Kuwabara refused to state the reason, and it was apparent that he had told his friends not to utter a word themselves. I later asked Yusuke, and he claims that they said I was…was it "cute"? Whether or not this was the case, I was flattered, and decided not to pursue any further into the matter. Not only that, but I made a conciseness effort not be exceptional nosy, if you didn't want me to know, then it wasn't my business…unless I felt as if I needed to make it my business, but this was rarely the case. But I could honestly say that that VHS tape did slightly pique my curiosity, but once again, I refrained from pestering.

The rest of the day went decently well, though it was a bit hard to keep up with everything; being that my Japanese isn't the greatest in the world (as stated before) I had to constantly nag Kuwabara to repeat what the teacher (or sensei as I found out) had said. But this led to no where since Kuwabara never honestly paid any more attention than a kid with a high level of ADHD, so I was better off just trying to translate everything myself. But I noticed throughout the day that Yusuke seemed to get quite moody whenever a certain couple would pass us in the hallways. The boy was rather handsome, nothing special, with fair skin and light blond hair. But the girl next to him was really cute if you ask me, like one of those girls in a magazine or something, petite, well mannered, good grades, and she had gorgeous shiny hair that swept her shoulders. But I gathered it was more of the girl that was beside the guy that was source of Yusuke's discomfort. Upon asking Kuwabara, he stated that the girl, whom I found out who's name was Keiko, was Yusuke's childhood friend and supposedly was not too pleased with her getting a boyfriend, whom I assumed was the blond haired that was walking next her. It was at that comment that I felt an unusual pang in my chest, but I disregarded it as bad indigestion (in my chest?) and concluded that all and all that it was a pretty successful day. Surprisingly all the teachers were nice to me after hearing that I was from the States, and the rest of the students marveled at my "naturally" tan skin, despite that I've never been able to find out what was so amazing about it.

"So Kuwabara, who is it you're going to introduce me to?" I asked as Kuwabara, Yusuke and I walked (always walking! I was sure that I was going to lose a few pounds on my coming here!) through the hallways and out the school towards what I presumed was where this guy or girl was, or resided. One of the two.

"O, he's a good friend. He's name is Kur-, I mean, Shuichi Minamino, don't worry, he's cool. And incredibly smart! So if you ever need someone to help you out, go ask him, I'm sure he'll oblige since you're used to getting good grades (unlike me and Yusuke!)," explained Kuwabara. It was at that that an image began to formulate within my mind. I could picture thick rimmed round glasses, a dorky uniform, and a neat trimmed bangs with a bowl cut hairstyle, not to mention probably a real goof-up when it came to girls. O well, Kuwabara's friends can't all be good looking, I thought, thinking of Yusuke and Hiei along with a quiet giggle.

If Kuwabara's school was a mini college campus, then this was a university in comparison! To my dismay, my original image of the class geek strengthened tremendously as we strolled through the school. To my left and right it seemed as though all the boys looked as though they were all geared to go to Tokyo University2, and appeared to have NO life. Once inside the building, Kuwabara told me and Yusuke to stay put while he went and asked the lady in the office to inform us if Shuichi was still in the building and where. Waiting, it was dead quiet, and I was going mentally insane, as I thought up of something, anything to say.

"Um…so you and Kuwabara are pretty good friends I presume?" I asked, realizing how oddly nervous my voice sounded. Yusuke nodded as he rested his head on the wall behind him.

"Yah, I suppose. I'm always saving his butt from various situations, but occasionally he does come in handy." was his reply. I was just about to ask what kind of situations he was referring to when Kuwabara came out, stating that Shuichi appeared to be in the science lab on the fourth floor. D-O-R-K. I thought, rolling my eyes and I followed Kuwabara in the labyrinth of a school.

Twenty minutes afterwards…

Holding my chest, I could not believe that I had just walked up three continuous flights of stairs. Immediately peeved, I lashed out at Kuwabara, "God damn it! Doesn't Japan realize that elevators and escalators were invented a LONG time ago! Why the *$& does Japan have so many 'effing stairs?!" I demanded, mixing English slurs with my speech. It was at that point that Kuwabara threw dirty look towards my direction, but remained quiet as Yusuke cackled in the background. Not only had I just walked up these three flights of stairs, but we had just gotten lost…TWICE! Apparently, all three of us were directionally challenged, and it appeared as though it wouldn't have mattered if we had had a map or not, because Kuwabara and Yusuke claim they don't know how to use one, and I certainly had no notion of how this school was laid out. (I've found that school maps were almost as confusing as the subjects they profess to teach.) So, we concluded that the science lab was at the end of this infinite hallway of doom, and knowing MY luck, I bet this stupid guy wasn't even--

Blank. My mind went utterly blank as we entered the room. Whatever previous notions I had fabricated before were long gone, and it was as though they had never resided there at all. I had come to a conclusion that all boys (with the exception of Kuwabara, who was an exception to most things) in Japan were on the short side, boy was I wrong! In the back of the lab, there was a boy, whose back was turned to us, working on some form of experiment. And even from a distance, I could see that he was easily over five ten (5,10), and he had elegant, fluid scarlet hair that cascaded over his shoulders and streamed down his back, something I could imagine that every girl in the world envied, and would kill for. His reflexes were in tuned as well, for as soon as I let out a small gasp, he turned around, and I about fainted. His eyes were rather large for a boy's, a brilliant and dazzling pair of emeralds with a hypnotic gaze that seemed to pierce one's heart. He was simply gorgeous, I couldn't find any other word to describe him. He walked over in one fluent motion and I could feel myself becoming rather warm. I began to fiddle constantly with my own hair, wishing I had down something, anything to make it look decent before meeting.

"Hello Kuwabara, Yusuke, I presume this is your cousin whom you've spoken to me about?" he asked sincerely, a small smile of delight forming on his lips. I flushed, finding myself for the first time in my life completely mute.

Kuwabara, noticing my silence, decided to fill in for my stead, "Yah, this is Kit, she just came from the States," he replied, giving me a slight nudge. I managed to squeak out something of a hello. The boy continued smiling.

"The pleasure is mine, I'm Shuichi Minamino, I pray that we can become good friends during your visit to Japan," he said, bowing. Upon rising, he gently took my hand into his own and lightly brushed his lips across the top. I really did pass out this time.

**********************

Yusuke swore quietly to himself; why so many girls went crazy for Kurama, or "Shuichi" as they had come to call him, he'd never know. He wasn't anything exceptionally special…was he? What did Kurama have that he didn't? Other than the long red hair, the green eyes, the nice manners, the seemingly coy personality…Yusuke stopped at that, realizing if he thought about this any further he was going to seal his own case…and in Kurama's favor at that. Reflecting upon how Yusuke introduced himself, and how Kurama introduced himself, there was a considerable amount of difference. Feeling like fool, he could envision Kit seeing him as nothing more than your usual class clown, not saying that she was wrong in thinking so, just at this moment, the class clown wasn't playing up to par. Determined to stop Kit from getting too acquainted with Kurama, he tugged on Kuwabara's jacket sleeve, saying that he needed to go; that 'ol pacifier breath had installed a mission in the VHS tape and he needed to go bum Kuwabara's VCR because his was conveniently busted.

"Alright, hey Kit! Time to go!" Kuwabara shouted. She whizzed around, her dazed expression melting, as if being woken up from a dream and nodded.

"Well, it's been great getting to meet you and all! I hope we can see each other again!" she said, Yusuke cringing at the sound of joy ringing through her voice. Kurama responded by kissing her hand once more and pulling a red rose from his back and handing it to her.

"Me too, and though we depart now, I'm certain we will meet once again," he replied sweetly, and disgustingly through Yusuke's perspective. Not only that, but Kit melted once again, her entire face a tinted in a light maroon. Yusuke could feel his anger meter popping its top as he gave a rough good bye as he shoved his hands into his pockets, grabbed Kuwabara and Kit and stomped out the door and down the stairs. Damn you Kurama, I fucking saw her first!

1 In Japan, it is typical for you to address someone by their last name+horrific. Down below you find that Yusuke tells Kit that it is alright for her to call him just "Yusuke". This is very uncommon in the Japanese culture, for first name basis without a horrific on the second meeting is very unusual, and sometimes, if you were to do it without their permission, this can be taken as being very rude.

2 Tokyo University is one of the best schools in Japan. It's about the equivalent of Harvard or Yale in terms of prestige.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

Reaching the apartment, the first thing that I desired to do was to change from this obnoxious skirt and into the first pair of pajama pants I could put my grubby paws on. Dashing into my room, I found my "Hello Kitty" pants (as I'm sure you intelligent people can gather, I happen to be a hard-core follower of all things Hello Kitty, or rather, Sanrio for that matter) and pulled them on and threw whatever was on the ground for my shirt. Immediate relief! Lifting up my shirt, I could see indentions from where the skirt had dug into my skin leaving a ring of red around my stomach. Letting it fall, I headed back into the living room, upon seeing Kuwabara and Yusuke attempting to configure the VCR to the television set. I just was about to ask if they needed some help when Kuwabara proceeded to chuck something at the wall. O-KAY! Let's not get in their way. I thought, sitting myself down in the recliner. Shifting my gaze towards Yusuke, I realized that he had been acting rather odd since my encounter with Shuichi, and throughout this period of time, a perturbed look adorned his usually happy face and a gloom seemed to replace his cheery atmosphere. Shrugging it off, my mind flickered back to Shuichi, and I remembered how amazing he was! Kind, polite, sweet, understanding, and handsome to boot! I could feel my heart beginning to pound perpetually at the thought. I had no idea there was a human alive that was so attractive! He was definitely prettier than any girl, and was more handsome than any mortal man! He was just wonderful! It was then that the door bell began to ring loudly; jumping up I twirled over to answer it, that's how drunk on joy I was.

And behind door number one revealed a….girl! Her hair was tied up in a pony tail, and it was…did my eyes deceive me? Blue? I knew I was drunk (metaphorically), but I was fairly certain I wasn't to the point where my vision had been impaired. Her eyes too, were the color of the sky, and she had a large smile that stretched from ear to ear (I didn't have that expression when meeting Shuichi did I?). Could this be Kuwabara's girlfriend?! I thought curiously, and almost immediately dismissing the idea.

"Hel-lo everyone! Botan has arrived!" she said hyperactively as she jumped down onto couch, her feet crossing. Her eyes followed the room, but then stopped as she reached me. Her eyebrows rose as she began to rudely point at me as I returned the stare.

"O, and who's this?" she asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," I replied, hoping she could realize that I was not too impressed by her. I scratched the back of my head as we both stared continuously at each other. I wasn't quite sure if she noticed my new found anger, but Kuwabara felt the need to laugh.

"Botan, this is my cousin, Kit. Kit, this is the grim reaper, Botan." Kuwabara seemingly explained, still chuckling as he set up the VCR. I cocked one eyebrow. He was joking right? I mean, he couldn't be possibly serious-

"Kuwabara! Do you know how much trouble we could be in! Koenma could have our heads for this!" wait. Was she serious?

"If this is the grim reaper, then the underworld is fatally lacking in the "tall, dark, creepy, and made of skeletons" area of expertise. Or maybe Mr. Bones just decided to retire and you're the new replacement? Either that both of y'all have just crushed my dreams of a Shinigami coming to take my soul when I die," I said with a slight chuckle, continuing what I thought (hoped) was a joke. Botan still looked rather distressed, but I had no desire to continue this conversation as I pressed play on the VCR.

"Uh, Kit, don't you think that you should go make some tea?" Kuwabara asked, sounding strangely nervous, or rather, on edge. Was he that worried that I took him honestly? What did he think I was, a kid? But, I concluded it would be for the better as I headed over to the kitchen, but before completely entering, I poked my head out.

"O, don't worry about it…Botan was it? I know you guys are joking…" I trailed off for her uneasy expression had yet to leave from her face. Sighing, I rummaged through the pots and pans, attempting to find the kettle, without any avail. I went through every cupboard, and each time finding no kettle. I was to the brim of frustration. Kuwabara and Shizuru needed learn a little thing of organization (which is something I could take lesson to, but I did make a conscientious effort to keep my kitchen clean at the very least) and I was going nuts.

I stormed out into room about to fly off of my rocket when my eyes flew to the television screen. Was that a…

"Is that baby?" I inquired, I being unable to tear my gaze from the screen. The toddler had a rather large hat with the word "Jr." inscribed upon it, and a shiny blue pacifier which he smacked loudly upon as if one were chewing gum. What in hell were they watching?

"O dear, this could be problematic," the baby said. I jumped back.. Did that thing just talk to me…through a TV?! No, I'm going crazy, that was purely coincidently, babies don't talk in perfect Japanese and begin conversations through TV(s)!

"But then again, this could be the opportune moment I was waiting for…I believe we can tell her what's going on Botan," I could feel my mouth hit the floor and my eyes beginning to water from the lack of blinking. I had to be dreaming, I had to have still been passed out from when I first fainted with Shuichi. I had to be. I took a piece of my skin from my arm and ensued to take it into my fingers and pinch it hard with my nails.

"Ouch! I'm supposed to be waking up now!" I screamed in confusion, reaching for my hair for something to pull. It was then that the toddler turned to me.

"I apologize in advance, but as you can see, you're not in a dream. This is very much the real world, unless we're all captivated in a dream world beyond our control, but since I highly doubt that, I'll continue. As for myself, I am Koenma, the prince of the Spirit World. And I will start by telling you that your cousin and his friend, Yusuke, aren't as normal as their outward appearances might lead you to believe," the toddler said. I gave a weary laugh.

"Yah, because I certainly knew my cousin needed to be placed in a mental facility the moment I met him. And hey, just for kicks, let's just say I'm totally insane as well, since I seem to be hearing voices and babies talking to me through TV screens!" I replied some-what sarcastically, and some-what fearful. If this was a dream, I really needed to wake up soon. I mean, the prince of Spirit World? Did such a place even exist? And if it did, how in hell did it creep into my subconscious?

The toddler sighed, "You know that's not what I was inferring to. Kit, I believe you know of your sixth sense. Just like Kuwabara, you too can see ghosts and spirits if I'm not mistaken, which I never am," I went wide eyed. Now I really wasn't dreaming. No one knew that, and I mean NO ONE. I hadn't even told Kuwabara about this, and I practically told him everything. Kuwabara was thinking along the same thing, for his expression was very similar to the one that had found it's home on my face.

"What?! When the hell did this happen?! I was not informed of this!" he exclaimed, his voice clearly hurt. Hypocrite, I thought bitterly, I had not been informed of this little bit either, I hung my head and peered up at him.

"Ever…ever since I was little, but it's considered demonic in the Christian1 belief, or rather, it's common for Christians to believe in such things. And since my father was of the Protestant faith, my mother told me to keep quiet about it, so I did," I paused, remembering the first time I had seen a ghost in my room. I knew that Kuwabara could see the same things, and I went to tell my mother, who was not as excited as I had originally thought she would've been. She was actually quiet fearful, and made me swear not to tell anyone, especially Daddy. Back then, I was confused of her actions, but now it was clear as glass on her intentions. Not noticing my hesitation, the toddler continued on with his babble.

"Now that we've established that, do you know what Yusuke happens to be?" Yusuke? That's right! He was the original one with the tape! My eyes flashed back at Yusuke for some form of response, but I received none. I shook my head, still not looking away from Yusuke. "Yusuke is what we call a "Spirit Detective" and he along with Kuwabara and others fight demons, retaining a balance within the human world and the demon world. And if possible, I think it would be beneficial to not only yourself, but to Yusuke and Kuwabara if you could attempt to help them. I've been watching you since States, and I believe you could have possible potential," My already large eyes grew even wider, if that was even possible. My ears were echoing with the toddler's previous words. Dreaming, I had to be dreaming. But Yusuke merely thumbed his nose and Kuwabara and turned a lovely shade of crimson. This was utterly unbelievable, and not to mention they wanted me, of all people, to help them out. I couldn't fight (well at least)! I wasn't even very fast, or smart for that matter! What could I possibly do that they couldn't? (Other than scream at an octave that I was fairly certain neither of them could reach.)

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" I demanded with skepticism. The toddler smiled.

"It is to my knowledge that you can possess powers very similar to them, focusing on an untapped force called "chi" or rather, "spirit energy". I believe this mission could be a wonderful test of strength, and if you feel as if this is too much, you can pull out. But now onto more pressing matters," he stopped as the TV blinked and it showed a large estate enclosed by a forest. He went on to explain that a man by the name of Tarukane was holding an ice maiden captive, and forcing her to produce these rare gems that formed from her tears. We (I say "we" but guess it really more of "they") were supposed to go and rescue the girl. He then showed a picture of her that the birds relayed. I gaped; I was having a tough time seeing Shuichi's beauty, but I could defend my own femininity in the fact that he was a man, but this was too much. This girl was stunning, calm, collected, and yet, so sad, despite the fact that her expression was rather blank, her eyes depicted everything. Large, bright, crimson eyes as a matter of fact…and oddly enough, they seemed horribly familiar. She was like a porcelain doll, beautiful, and fragile. But as I pondered on this, I had yet to notice Kuwabara's beginning to tremble.

"We…we have to save her!" I turned and began to stare curiously at him.

"Que?2"

"We can't just stay here while that horrid man tortures her! Somebody's got to save her, and I'm just man enough to do it! Ah! Sis!" Running over to Shizuru he began to ramble, grabbed some money, and darted out the door in a matter of ten seconds splat. Either Kuwabara noticed what I had noticed, or someone really had lost it. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back towards the TV.

"You were saying?"

Koenma coughed, "Ah yes. Also, Yusuke, this involves a personal debt you owe to a certain someone. The ice maiden, Yukina, happens to be Hiei's twin sister," At that, everyone's eyes grew a size larger, and it suddenly clicked why her eyes had seemed so familiar. Like Hiei, her eyes showed her true emotions, and let's not forget the fact that they both were a lovely crimson (something that should've given it away from the very beginning, I mean, how many people do I know that have red eyes?)

At this, since the sun would be going to rest in a matter of hours, we concluded that we would find Kuwabara, camp out, and continue to search tomorrow for Yukina. Personally though, I began to feel a bit concerned for Hiei; the tape had gone on to say that he had been searching constantly searching for her. I felt a tinge of guilt knowing that I knew where she was, and I had just arrived, where's he didn't even have a clue upon the matter. I felt as if he had the right to know where she was. My mind also wandered towards my being there. Did Hiei know about me joining this escapade? I could imagine he did, seeing as though he did hand the tape over to Yusuke in my presence, but maybe he just disregarded me. I was also informed that my beloved "Shuichi" wasn't really Shuichi, but rather, the demon, Kurama. It was noted that he did know of Koenma's plans on attempting to recruit me, but was assured that he acted upon his own accord. In fact, Koenma was rather peeved in hearing that I had already met him. That was a bit of comfort. (Which also made complete sense, I knew there wasn't a human alive that could possibly be as attractive as him). It also made me come to the conclusion that Hiei was a demon as well, which I had already given some suspect to, I just never really gathered that it was a demon I had been sensing this entire time….was that was they were referring to? I knew that my sixth sense was something most people did not possess, but Shizuru, to my knowledge, also had an exceptional strong and in tuned sixth sense, but she wasn't in all of this mess. Puzzled, I told myself that it was bound to make sense in the nearby future.

Yusuke and I hopped on the nearest train towards the outskirts of town, and began to truck aimlessly through the surprisingly thick woods, trying to find Mr. Lover-boy over here. But it was during which that Yusuke had noticed my silence that had overcome me since earlier.

"You okay over there?" he asked, his pace slowing to match my own. Sighing, I gave a nod.

"I think so, I'm just so…weirded out by this entire situation! I just really wish I knew what was going on, what sort of things I'm supposed to be able to do, you know, stuff like that," I explained, wondering if I was clear enough, or if any of it actually made any sense at all. At that Yusuke smiled and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll do great, and trust me, once you start using spirit energy, it gets easier and easier! I mean, I didn't grow up just knowing how to do all of this crap! That 'ol pacifier breath hunted me down a similar way!" he said encouraging. This helped a bit; and it was rather comforting knowing that Yusuke had been dragged into this a similar way, it made me feel as if I wasn't the only crazy one here. As I smiled, I saw something clumsily and rather loudly going through some shrubs up ahead.

"Well I'll be damned, I think that's Kuwabara!" We ran over to find a very confused, and very lost Kuwabara (remember, we're all directionally challenged and have to hold up our hands when determining left or right).

"Kuwabara!" He whizzed around, almost tripping on a branch behind me, but recovering his balance.

"Hey! Where in the world have you two been! I've been searching endlessly for this bastard's mansion and haven't found hide or hair!" Kuwabara said, exasperated. Tilting my head up, I found that the sun was going to bed a lot faster than I had originally perceived, night was going to blanket us in less than an hour.

"About that, we can look tomorrow. And unless one of y'all has the ability to see in the dark, I suggest that we postpone this until tomorrow (I mean, we're horrible at direction in broad daylight!)" I said. Shuddering, I felt goose bumps finding residence upon my arm as a similar sensation from previously today shoot through my entire body like electricity. Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded unison and we decided that we should find some fire wood and set up camp. I volunteered for the wood as long as they could successfully set up a reasonable camp. As soon I was out of earshot, I peered up at the tress.

"You can come out Hiei, I know you're there!" The sensation was still there, so I was almost certain that he hadn't gone anywhere, or rather, was still pursuing me. "Don't worry, I won't let Yusuke and Kuwabara know you're here," I continued, hoping that my coaxing would lead him to reveal himself. My eyes flickered around me, but despite the fact that I could most definitely sense him, I couldn't seem to find him…

"I'm right behind you," jumping at the unfamiliar voice, I whizzed around to see Hiei standing there on top a low branch of a pine tree. That had been the first time that I had heard it, as I recalled.

"You're looking for Yukina, aren't you?" I asked, climbing up to the branch were Hiei stood. He waited patiently as I stumbled once or twice until I reached him and was sitting before answered.

"Yes, I'm hoping for once this won't be a dead end like the previous ones," His voice trailed off and I dared not look at him. I felt so guilty. I knew that I had not done something wrong, but since no one else seemed to feel this well, the guilt and sadness overwhelmed me. His voice, though static, seeped with underlying regret and sorrow.

"I'm so sorry," I spoke, hardly above a whisper. I was first afraid that he hadn't heard me when he replied.

"What for?"

I curled up, a bad tendency of mine when nervous, similar to my hair twirling, "I just…I just feel so bad that no one told you anything about this, and that you've been looking for her for so long! It's not fair! They finally found out something about her and they don't even bother to tell you…if I knew how, I would've found some way to have contacted you," I said, not sure if it was wise to speak directly from my mind, but it surprisingly released a lot of compressed pressure, and this strange guilt. Hiei sat down where he stood and began to look curiously at me.

"Why, why would you help someone like me? I haven't done anything that deserves your sympathy, or your care."  
I wasn't expecting that curve ball.

"Well, you needn't have to. And besides, why wouldn't you deserve to know!? She's your sister! It doesn't matter whether or not I know you or not, I feel as if someone should've have told you, and if no one else would, then I would! I mean, I know it doesn't look to good, but not everyone in this world is out to get you. You should try being a bit more social, then maybe you'd realize this, and Kuwabara more than likely wouldn't pick on you so much," I said, realizing how hypocritical this sounded, remembering the amount of times having to remind myself of those things. My ears pricked as I heard something rustle in the bushes below us. Glancing back over at Hiei, I found that he was no longer there, and instead Yusuke and Kuwabara were looking up at me from below.

"What the hell are you doing up there?" Kuwabara shouted. I gave a small grin as I leaned back.

"Just checking out the sunset!"

******************

Yusuke was rather apprehensive about this current mission. Not about his ability to complete it, that didn't bother him, he was always brimming with confidence. But Kit, she was a different matter. Koenma, that bastard, not telling him anything about this, he bet that Koenma probably anticipated her moving to Japan, or maybe even induced the whole thing. But it wasn't Koenma he was particularly peeved at, it was himself. Upon hearing she too had spiritual powers, he began to feel a bit insecure. He had always been able to sense people, demon or not, as long as they had chi, he could sense them. But not her, or at least, not initially. He could sense something, but it was light, like a small flame on a candle, comparing to a large fire. But more than that, she could sense them! It was like looking in one of those trick mirrors when all you saw was yourself, but the people on the other side could see you. But now that he thought about it, he should've noticed it; she even said that she "sensed", not saw, Hiei when he approached them earlier this morning. Very curious indeed.

They huddled closely around a crudely made fire, it was apparent that neither Kuwabara or Yusuke had any woodmen skills, and it was a left to Kit to attempt at making one. But hey, it was keeping them warm in this cooling night. But to pass the time, Yusuke felt that this would be a decent time to experiment with what Kit could do.

"So, I figure, while we're waiting, I say we try and figure out what you can do, Kit," Yusuke said, picking up a rock and fiddling with it in his hands. She shrugged apprehensively.

"I suppose, but exactly can you two do?" she asked. Yusuke's lips split in a wide and confident grin and puffed his chest out like a proud robin.

"Well, not to brag, but I can blow things to smithereens with my spirit gun. It's a concentrated amount of spirit energy focused in the size of a bullet and shot towards the enemy with a huge impact. But for as of right now, I can only fire one shot a day. But you can't fight demons without using chi, so you just focus in to your hands or feet to do normal damage," Yusuke explained, coming to the realization that he sounded like something from a video game tutorial, as he demonstrated focuses chi around his hand, a light blue aura surrounding it. Kit giggled, and then turned her attention towards Kuwabara, and without her asking, he shot up excitedly.

"I can make a spirit sword! So far I can extend it at will!…But that's about it…" Kuwabara said, actually summoning his spirit sword, it filled with a bright orange aura that shot up from his hand, but he quickly but it away. Kit nodded as a sign of understanding, but still a bit puzzled.

"I guess the best way to find out what you're capable of is to imagine a weapon you like…" Yusuke thought aloud, but Kit was already thinking, her eyes closed as Yusuke could now sense her chi flowing through her entire body. Suddenly, he could see it narrowing down into her hand, and then a bright ball of red energy formed inside her palm. Yusuke blinked at the bright light, and when he focused back on what she was doing, she had already succeeded in making four small kunai3. She herself looked rather baffled on her accomplishment, as if she wasn't quite sure how she had done it herself, it was at that that she threw one of them at a tree, and it made a small explosion, destroying a small portion of the trunk. Yusuke and Kuwabara's mouths were wide open.

****************

It was then that a wave of comprehension overtook me; if I hadn't waken up from this crazy dream by now, then it a safe bet that it wasn't a dream. I, Kitiara, had just blown up a portion of that tree, by using energy within me! ME! But they failed to mention that by depleting my chi that that in return would cause me to become slightly drowsy, and that was after only using one. I withdrew the rest of my energy and sighed. Was there anything else I could do? I wondered, crossing my legs Indian style.

"Dude, that was way awesome, they were almost like Yusuke's spirit gun, only not as big of a punch behind it," Kuwabara commented, leaning back on the nearest tree. Yusuke nodded his head in agreement.

"Not bad, certainly impressed for your first time. But I think we'd all better get some sleep, and don't worry about the fire, I'll take the first watch and then I'll bug Kuwabara," Yusuke suggested. The night was surprisingly cold, so we determined that someone should stay up to watch the fire or we'd freeze our asses off.

I curled up into a small ball by the fire, placing my hands under my hand for a crude pillow, one that didn't compare to my pillow back at home. We'd picked a small clearing in the woods that had a large grassy area and a few patches of dirt which we used for our fire. The ground was not very soft, nor was it comfortable for that matter; not only that, but it appeared as though it was getting colder and colder as time ticked away. I was so exhausted, and I wanted to sleep, but my body refused to give me that pleasure. Along with my mind, it drifted from various thoughts; I wondered what tomorrow held in store for us, I wondered if all demons had a human form, what sort of things they did. And I wanted to know…but unknowingly, before I could finish that last thought, my eyes began to droop and sleep took me into it's comforting arms.

*******************

Hiei gazed down from the treetops, watching intently. If it had been left up to that fool of a Spirit Detective to defend them, they would have been made into a quick meal easily. Yusuke appeared as though he could fall asleep at any given moment. And so he did, ten minutes into his so called "watch". Sighing, Hiei felt as if he should at least attempt to keep watch, since that blasted fire of theirs would attract anyone's attention. It was the least he could do, and the most that he would do. He was going to leave everything else to them, and if they screwed up, hey, that was their fault. His gaze drifted to a frolicking squirrel that darted up the side of a tree, huddling closely with its family. Hiei felt a twinge in his chest as he saw the animals together, it's family, and he thought of his lack of. Yukina…would he finally get to see her after two years of failure? Would fate actually give him a break in life? Sighing, he knew he had to keep reality in perspective. If he got his hopes up, that would only lead to a bigger fall if it proved disastrous.

It was then that his eyes traced back and forth for each of the members; Yusuke was slumped against a tree, Kuwabara was sprawled out, his perpetual snoring loud enough to wake the dead from their slumber, but Kit on the other hand…

She was curled up like that of a small kitten, and even from this height, Hiei could see her shivering, despite the fact that she was the closest one to the fire. It was apparent to him that she was not prepared for the cold that the night brought. He hopped down from the tree and lightly trotted over towards her. She was certainly different, he'd give her that much, completely polar opposite of her obnoxious cousin. She, besides Kurama, was one of the first people to even talk to him like a normal person. Part of this was his fault, he knew that, but even without her knowing him, she had tried to talk and dare he say, comfort him? Even though she had no reason to comfort him (nor did he need comforting for that matter), and the thought of him even attempting to become more social! He scoffed at the idea; he couldn't open himself up, the stupid one was right. He was about to depart when he realized that she was not merely shivering, but shaking! Her entire body trembled, and in a pair of jeans and a short sleeved t-shirt, she was certainly not dressed appropriately for this kind of weather! It was then that Hiei saw the frost almost growing from the forest towards them. Frost? Hiei then realized that it was colder than he had originally thought, but frost? He knew it cooled down considerably more in the woods than in the city, but it was the end of the summer, frost should not be adorning the ground! Hiei felt something tugging at him as he stared at her. He crouched beside her, lightly pushing the hair away from her face. He sighed, 'why not?'

1 For the note, Christians do not typically believe this, or as a Christian myself, I do not believe this. But it is know that some radical Christians do believe in such a thing, which is where I draw this from, but do not believe we all are the same.

2 It means "what" in Spanish

3 kunai, for all of you non-Naruto fans, are small throwing knives.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

I remember falling asleep extremely cold, my back lying against the bare ground. But when I awoke, I was not as cold as one would have thought me to be. In fact, I was rather warm, this feeling seeping through me and heating my very bones and I was not convulsing like I remember doing. The sun was peeking through my eyelids as I sat up and rubbed them furiously. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the blaring light, but once I did, I made an important discovery. Draped over my shoulders and stomach was a long black blanket spread across my body, was this what was keeping me warm last night? I didn't remember bringing a blanket with me, nor did I remember Yusuke or Kuwabara being that mindful. And then it dawned on me like the rising sun; Hiei. This was Hiei's cloak. Perplexed, I wondered why Hiei had left his cloak on me, it had to have been deliberate. Leaning back, my hands touched the ground slightly before I flinched back in surprise. In the surrounding ground there was a thin coat of frost coating the tops of the blades of grass. Not only was it on the grass, but on the trees, and bushes as well. But, frost shouldn't be here at this time of year, it was only the end of summer! I realized that sometimes the temperature would dip down a bit lower when the sun would set, but there was no way it could've been _**naturally**_ this cold.

Being a girl, I suddenly felt extremely unclean, and had the annoying urge of wanting to take a shower. Furrowing my brow, I determined what options that laid before me as of this moment. I could not take a shower, and feel really grow, or I could battle the intensely ice cold stream that was about a half of a mile east of here. Weighing the pros and cons, I concluded that it was in my best interest to go the stream; I knew I'd feel really disgusting without any means of refreshing myself (even if that meant just splashing water in my face) and on the plus side that I found Hiei, I could give him his cloak back. I knew if Kuwabara and Yusuke (who had yet awoken from their deep slumber, which was surprising that Yusuke and I were not disturbed by Kuwabara's obnoxious snoring) would die with laughter if he saw Hiei's cloak with me.

It didn't take long for me to reach the little stream; I was used to trucking in mud through woods and forests from living in the South back in the States. So I had become fairly apt in navigating my way through areas and remembering key places. For once my redneck life had actually paid off.

Sticking my hand into the clear, and deceivingly inviting water, I immediately jerked my hand back; I had always heard the expression that when something was so cold it burned, but I had honestly never believed it…until now. Leaning over, I came to the horrid conclusion that I could see my reflection in the glassy water. My hair was wild and messy, like that of a madwoman. I desperately needed a brush, like ASAP. And my face wasn't doing so hot either; you could see the bags making their selves at home beneath my eyes and I had a certain dazed look on my face that didn't add to my intelligence. I tried to tame my hair by smoothing it out, but it failed horribly. I gave a groan and flopped on the ever so frigid grass.

"If you travel about another half of a mile, the water isn't cold," I whizzed around to see Hiei standing right behind me upon the branch of a rather large tree. I gave a rather large toothy grin, unable to contain my sense of glee.

"Well that is certainly helpful…like last night. Thanks so much! I probably would've froze to death!" I said, tossing the cloak to him. Despite the fact that he was not wearing his cloak, and that I had a cloak similar to his, he still attempted to act as though he was clueless upon my remark.

"*Hmph* No idea what nonsense you're spouting now," he replied, titling his head so that I could not see his expression, but he still clung to the cloak. If it was possible, I could feel my grin grow.

"O come off of it now, how stupid do you think I am? (No, wait, don't answer that question!) I know that's yours; it's black, it's your size, you seem to be without your usual attire, I think I can add one plus one," I explained, trying to be rational by using logic and the given evidence. It was then that I thought I saw Hiei's face develop into a light scarlet color even though his face was turned away. His cheeks could have already been kissed by the tender cold from this morning, but I don't think so, but I wouldn't bet my life on it either. Maybe slowly but surely I was having some form of effect upon him.

It was then that I became aware of the creeping sun in the horizon faster than I had anticipated, and Kuwabara and Yusuke would be (or rather, "should" be) waking up anytime soon.

"Hey Hiei, I hate to leave, but I think I'd better be heading back towards the guys. I wouldn't want them to think I've gotten eaten or something!" I laughed cynically. Hiei leaped down from the tree and muttered something of a "don't worry, I'll be trailing you guys," and turned away. What compelled me to do what I did after that, I think was a mixture of happiness and excitement; for I ran over to him and squeezed him tight by his shoulders. The gesture wasn't returned, but I do know for a fact that this go around his whole face lit up like a firecracker. Releasing him and waving goodbye, I disappeared into the woods as if nothing had happened.

*********************

Yusuke awoke abruptly by the sound of train roaring right at them; or at least, that's what he thought he heard. In all actuality it was just Kuwabara's snoring that made him leave his rather pleasant dream. It was at that time that become conscious of the fact that he had not kept his watch, or even made an attempt to keep the fire going; all that was left was a small pile of ashes and a few surviving twigs. Hitting himself on the head, he couldn't believe the carelessness of last night, it was a wonder they all didn't freeze to death! But on the plus side, no one had noticed as of yet. But as the thought crossed his mind, he scanned the area and came to a shocking conclusion.

Kit wasn't here.

Frantic, Yusuke jumped out and looked around for Kit or any signs of her. She wasn't the type to run off (he didn't think) and certainly she was strong enough to fight off a simple demon…but maybe it wasn't a simple demon. What if a stronger demon attacked her in their sleep when _**he **_was supposed to be keeping watch? Or, what if she had gotten lost trying to go somewhere and gotten eaten by a wild bear?! How would he explain that to Kuwabara? Kuwabara! He'd better tell--

"Damn it you bastard!" Yusuke swore upon realizing that Kuwabara was still out cold.

He then heard the snapping of twigs and leaves as Yusuke put up a defensive. Maybe these were the demons that kidnapped Kit! He thought, his entire body on edge as he prepared for the worst.

And then--

"What the hell is your problem?" Yusuke blinked, and suddenly felt like a complete moron as Kit came from behind the tree, her mouth stretching in a wide yawn that compelled Yusuke to do the same. But what infuriated him even more than him making a mistake, was the fact that he had actually gotten worried over nothing.

"Where the hell have you been?!" he demanded, his attempt at sounding angry succeeding, but he couldn't hide the relief in his voice. She shrugged, but a smirk played across her lips.

"I wanted to wash up before we started, is that a crime now? Did little ol' Yusuke get all scaredy and think I got eaten by a large animal or something?" she replied, her mockery apparent even in her nonverbals that she posed as her eyes fluttered. Yusuke flushed, and in a moment of anger, kicked Kuwabara in the side, muttering something of a "get up you lazy ass,". Kuwabara didn't particularly appreciate this, and proceeded to call Yusuke various names which are better left unsaid.

They walked aimlessly for about an hour, not quite sure where they were going, or what exactly they were specifically looking for; but they figured that they would have to run into a large estate sooner or later. Later drugged by. Yusuke could feel the soles of his shoes beginning to wear out, and neither Kit or Kuwabara seemed to be in the best of spirits. But by around noon Yusuke thought that he'd caught a glimpse of a house from the tops trees for a second there. Maybe we're finally getting somewhere! He thought, rather excited at their find. And just as things were going smoothly, a guard decided to become a roadblock in their adventure.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but you are not permitted beyond this point, leave now." His voice did not falter, and if anyone else had seen him, they probably would've thought he was a normal guard. But that was only looking at him skin-deep. Yusuke could sense a low aura being emitted from his surroundings, he knew Kuwabara could tell, and he'd like to have thought Kit realized this, for her guard seemed to be raised.

Yusuke was feeling rather lucky today, "and what if we say no?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking down upon the man. It was in that instance that the guard's lips split into a twisted grin, revealing fangs. His entire body started to convulse as his skin became drenched in a sickly olive color, his suit ripping to shreds as his previous human form was no more. Not to mention the odd appearance of a second mouth within his stomach, making him look like an overgrown Venus fly trap. Needless to say, he wasn't easy on the eyes.

"Then you'll just have to die!" it screamed, lunging towards Yusuke. Glancing back at Kuwabara, Yusuke gave a nod and simply waited for the opportune moment as he came forward before they synchronized their attacks; Yusuke stunning it with a rapid blows all over, and Kuwabara making sushi out of it. Easy as pie…(as soon as the thought glided into his mind, Yusuke realized how hungry he was, and that he could really go for some apple pie right about now).

"O-M-F-G! That was freaking amazing!!!" Kit exclaimed excitedly. Yusuke could see that she was slightly trembling; but he couldn't tell if that was from her being excited, or actually from fear. Shrugging it off, he smirked.

"If you think that's amazing, just wait until you see my spirit gun. That thing would've blown this guy to smithereens!" he replied, puffing out his chest like a robin. She gave a giggle, and Yusuke noticed her trembling had ceased for now. What really began to perplex him was Kuwabara, who seemingly was tying something around his forehead.

"…I love…snow girl?" Yusuke read aloud, not quite sure if he wanted to believe what he just read. Kuwabara hit his chest like an over grown ape and gave his usual dumb-ass smile.

"Hell yes!! I'm going to be her knight in shining armor that's going to rescue her from the clutches of that evil man! No one is going to be able to stop me in my quest for love!" he said triumphantly as he ran into the large mansion.

*******************

Meanwhile, Kurama was finding himself in a most unwanted and rather problematical situation. Realizing that this could develop into something unbeneficial for everyone, he decided to pay a small visit to the Prince himself. It bothered him how unsympathetic people within the Spirit World could be, particularly Koenma, despite his good intentions, seemed to be the most callous out of them all. Reaching the frustrated and busy Koenma, Kurama proceeded to tap him lightly on the shoulder, hoping to gather his attention.

"Pardon me, but if it's not too much trouble, I wish to locate Hiei, may you be so kind as to direct me to him?" he asked, rather calmly, despite internal squabble. Koenma immediately froze, and looked up from the large stacks of paperwork.

"Are you implying that Hiei is NOT here as of this moment?" Koenma asked, fear playing on every word that was spoken. Sighing, Kurama shook his head gently.

"It appears not, it is of my best knowledge that he might have run to go find his sister, whom you know as Yukina. If you can recall, you just so happened to give him the tape which held precious information about her," Kurama replied, his sarcasm and anger slowly seeping through his words, but still attempting to remain calm and collected. Koenma was not so lucky.

"WHAT THE DEVIL?! Someone do something! O dear God, someone has to get Hiei! He'll kill Tarukane! O God! Dad's gonna kill me!!" sobbed Koenma, panicking as he threw his papers around in desperation.

This was just what Kurama had anticipated. Smiling, he laid a calming hand on Koenma's cap.

"Well then, we'd better work fairly fast to compensate for lost time. If you will, keep tabs upon Yusuke, and I'll go find our missing friend. Could you be so kind as to make me a portal?"

********************

Honestly, this was a lot easier than I had previously imagined. I mean, A LOT easier than imagined. Remembering my initial thoughts of tar pits, flying arrows, booby traps, and explosives, this "triad" thing didn't seem to compare. Or maybe it was simply because Kuwabara and Yusuke were so strong. (Though I must admit, they were definitely a strange bunch of people, the first one especially caused goose bumps to find their home upon my arm.) But we were cruising through this place like it was the first dungeon in Zelda! (Even those in comparison seemed harder than that, I mean, the Deku tree can be slightly difficult at times….) Though the fact that I was unable to sense Hiei bothered me slightly; I kept contemplating where on earth could he have been at this time, but rather what was he doing at this time. I didn't want him doing anything he'd regret in the nearby future. But maybe I was looking too deeply into this, Hiei was more than likely alright, I mean, if _**we **_were able to get through this place like a cake walk, then he should be able to….right?

Turning right into a long corridor, I realized in horror where Yusuke and Kuwabara were turning towards.

Stairs. A long flight of them too, in fact, I couldn't even see where they ended. Needless to say, in about five minute's time, I still had yet to even catch a glimpse at the top, and I from my lack food I was exasperated to my wits end.

"Stairs, stairs, stairs, and MORE 'EFFING STAIRS! I've said it once and I'll say it again! Elevators were created a LONG 'EFFING TIME AGO!" I screamed, slumping down against the wall, taking a small breather. I expected Yusuke and Kuwabara to continue on, but both of them stopped, but from what I could gather, it wasn't because of my complaining.

"Why did you guys stop?" I asked. Kuwabara placed a finger to his mouth.

"Shhh, I'm trying to make contact with…o what's her name…"

"Yukina," Yusuke interjected, filling in for the missing gap. Kuwabara's eyes widened, and I could see them gleam even within the dark staircase.

"How do you know her name?!" he demanded, his voice rising in pitch.

"By watching the rest of the video, dumb-ass," snickered Yusuke. Despite this, I could see Kuwabara focusing his thoughts on her. I knew Kuwabara was capable of doing such things, it just bewildered me that he was so apt at doing them. He snapped out of his trance and grinned once again.

"The Brokers of Darkness are just up ahead! Don't worry my precious love, I'll save you!" he announced, finding a burst of energy as he raced up the remaining stairs. Sighing, Yusuke fumbled with his hair, and then looked down at me.

"Well, you're still down there eh?" Bending down, he randomly grabbed me by my waist and lifted me up to my feet. A wave of pink; yah, that's the best way to describe the color change in my usually tan face. Brushing the situation off, I gave a half hearted laugh in a failed attempt to divert the attention from myself.

"Good thing Kuwabara didn't see the rest of the video," I said in a slight stammer, still uneasy, when it dawned on me that Yusuke's hands hadn't left their position. "Uhh…" Jerking his hands back, I could see Yusuke too became a tinted pink; not replying, he headed up the stairs in pursuit of Kuwabara.

Perplexed, I too followed, desperately pushing the instance aside as I opened the door to reveal a wide white room. Bare, it's walls were a smooth sheen white, save for five large screens that made their home on one side of a wall, and a large window which allowed you to look into a large control panel room. Or rather, allowed the people in the large control panel room to look and observe you. Within it, was a rather portly man in a crumpled suit was clutching a small girl. I couldn't make out anything more than that, for it was rather high up, but I assumed that they were Tarukane and Yukina. The room was also built circularly, so, in fact, that I could feel myself becoming dizzy within each second. But this wasn't to say that we were alone, in fact, it appeared as though we had been expected.

There was two men there; one towered above us, and if I had to estimate his height, I would probably say he was about seven foot at the very least. He had a cold appearance, and a dark aura lingered about him. This may have been due to the fact that his face was covered by a pair of dark sunglasses, concealing his eyes, like he was concealing a part of him, like his soul. And if his height wasn't intimidating by itself, you could see his muscles bulge even from the inside of his long green trench coat. The other one was perched upon the taller's shoulder, his entire body looking sickly and twisted. He too, hid his face behind the drapes of his long and white hair, only you see his dull eyes eyeing you from a distance. He reminded me of a monster that would lurk and kill from the shadows, burdened by the light. Call it intuition or a premonition, I got the strangest feeling that we weren't going to be able to beat these guys like the previous demons.

"Welcome, I hope you three will go easy on me," the tall man said, his deep voice ringing throughout the room, and echoing within my own ears. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or simply mocking us, but it was apparent that Kuwabara was unaffected.

"Pfft! This doof has got zilch demonic aura, this will be just as easy as the last time!" Kuwabara said optimistically. I disagreed; I didn't know what it was, for as Kuwabara so obviously pointed out, he lacked demonic aura, but there was just something that made me feel uneasy about him. Yusuke appeared to be on the same wavelength.

"No."

"Huh? Why not?" Kuwabara asked.

"…I dunno, but if you ask me, this guy is big trouble. Just a creepy feeling in my gut that screams "watch it"," It was in that instant that Yusuke's face no longer held childish excitement, he was serious. I nodded in agreement.

"You feel it too?" Yusuke didn't answer. But it was then that something eerie occurred; the little guy on the tall one's shoulder body began to deform as it twisted and scrunched until it appeared into a "sword-like" shape.

I was freaked out, "What the f*# is that?!" I questioned, inching back towards the door. I wasn't prepared for this, not mentally or physically. The tall man scoffed at my fear.

"Amazing, isn't it? My brother can transform into anything I wish him to, meaning he's only as effective as his wielder allows him to be, but I think you'll find me a bit of a challenge," the tall man said, his aura beginning to fill the entire room like water filling a tank. And we were the small fish. His muscles grew even larger than their original state, making the Hulk look tiny and meek in comparison. My throat was caught, I couldn't move, my entire body was convulsing tremendously. I tried to take another step back, when I realized he was no longer there. My eyes moved only fast enough to see him come down on us. I still couldn't move. My body no longer performed simple tasks. I squinted my eyes shut to brace myself for the blow when I felt myself being swept up in one motion. Opening my eyes, I saw that floor where I was standing cracked and it caved in upon itself. He missed. Or rather…looking down, I saw a familiar green sleeve clutching my waist…again. If Yusuke hadn't had jumped in and saved me, I would've been a goner for sure. I attempted to squeak out a thanks, but my voice was failing me as well. Letting me down, Yusuke whispered something in my ear.

"Stay right here, we'll take care of it," he said as he walked back to battle ground. Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword, and I could feel his and Yusuke's aura overflowing. I wanted to bawl as I watched helplessly from the sidelines. I was useless, dead weight. All I could do was stare as the man closed in on Kuwabara and Yusuke. Even combined their attempts were futile. Every attack he dodged and retaliated with an even stronger blow. And then…

He swung hard towards Kuwabara's abdomen, and Kuwabara appeared to be like that of fly as he was sent hurling into the wall.

"Kuwabara!" I screamed, terrified. Blood dripped from Kuwabara's mouth, staining his lips crimson, he was in a daze and not getting up. He had to have broken at least one rib, I wanted to move over to him, but my body still refused to obey my commands. Yusuke on the other hand, gave the impression that he was not happy, to say the least. He leaped behind the man and I could see a blue aura surrounding his index finger. Growing, and growing. I ducked down, my hands over my ears and my eyes shut tight. I could hear the shot go off and sound of debris flying against walls. Was…was it over? Did we win?

"That's the last of you, you bastard!" shouted Yusuke, his own body looking weary. But the smoke began to clear and the man was simply standing there, not a mark to be shown for Yusuke's brave attempt. In a form of explanation, he raised his arm to show his brother, but this time, not in a sword. His brother had coiled himself around the tall man's arm into that of a sturdy shield, taking the blow for him. It was then that he ran in quickly and hit Yusuke square in the jaw with the back of his hand covered by the stone shield. I could see Yusuke's body go limp as he hit the floor, his left arm still twitching.

I couldn't take it.

I had to do something.

I was stronger than this.

....Wasn't I?

I could feel a warm sensation fill my entire body and as if focused into the palm of my hand. I imagined the small kunai as they took shape, and transformed. Right as the man was about to strike Yusuke once more, I threw one of the kunai with all my might; I knew I wasn't strong enough. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to beat him. But I'll be damned if I was going to sit back and watch him kill my friends.

The kunai made contact.

Blood trickled down his large back; he then peered at me through his sunglasses like one would at a gnat or a mosquito; annoying and useless. He dropped Yusuke and he simply walked towards me; as if he could sense my fear, he knew that I was dumbstruck. He knew it. I know he did. His shadow loomed over me and within a second I was on the flow clutching my stomach in pain. One blow, that's all it took. A swift kick to the abdomen was all he needed to take me out; I could feel the blood brimming to my lips, the salty taste was unbearable. I felt as if my insides had been taken out, and been rearranged by a three year old. And then as he disregarded me and walked back to Yusuke, and horrible thought found its way into my subconscious, one that had never found its way there before.

We could die.

I began to think of all the things I had yet to do in my life, I began to think how I'd never really loved anyone, or how I'd never really found my purpose, or helped mom or dad...or...or.....I felt hot water streak down my face, and in a helpless realization, I realized I was crying, crying like the pathetic baby I was. Useless to everybody.

Useless.

Hitting and hitting and hitting and hitting, blood spattering everywhere like paint, groans of pain, and jeers of pleasure and resentment. He just kept hitting and hitting and hitting, Yusuke had to be dead. There was no way a human body could withstand so much abuse. And yet...

I was only attacked once, no, I didn't even begin the fight, I was entirely unneeded even at the beginning, he only approached me later, and I still lacked the courage to attempt to dodge or attack again. We were going to die.

Die.

Die.

Die.

Die.

Die.

"STOP!" I reached for my head and shook violently. My mind was at its limit. The "think" function had been switched off. Rationality and logic were already past friends, emotion and impulsive had replaced them. I focused my chi into my hand, but this time, I didn't form them into a kunai. The raw energy bubbled furiously in my palm, waiting. Since my "thinking" function disappearing, my legs suddenly found new movement, and instinctively carried me towards the big man, in a similar way that my chi had sprung on its own. I then proceeded to strike the man in the back of the head, hoping to distract him once more.

His glazed eyes became apparent being so close to him.

"You're becoming very annoying," his deep voice boomed. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and threw me against the wall, my back arching in a way UI thought never possible. Slumping over, he seized me once again and I could feel his breath against my ear, "I'll kill you quickly because you're a woman, but I'll let you know that you brought this upon yourself," his ominous voice whispered. I forced my eyes shut. I only hope death would come swiftly, that I would feel no pain. But that was my naivety of my youth kicking in. And then, there was no blow.

Opening my eyes, I saw a bright golden orange energy surge from the tall man's back, his eyes rolling back, revealing the whites. His body became limp and heavy as he collapsed to his side. He had been struck in the heart from behind. I was baffled. Within seconds I was being embraced by a similarly battered Yusuke, through frantic and relieved laughs explained how he and Kuwabara killed the big man. His strong arms held me tight, despite the apparent fragility that hung on his bones.

"Hey brave girl, how ya doing?" he asked tenderly, easing his hug. His words were comfort, and I knew not how he had lived through that beating, but I cared not for logic now.

"I'm not dead am I?" I replied; suppressing the laughter for fear it would gouge at my stomach like a knife into a slab of meat. He smiled softly and picked me up towards Kuwabara, who apparently was the best off out of us all.

Despite the joy and sensation of being alive, I was embarrassed to no end.

"I can walk, Yusuke," I said, trying to cover me seemingly red face. I didn't know why, Yusuke was only trying to help. Why did I have to be such an ass all the time?

Luckily, whether it was from being beaten almost to death, or from him being dense, I would never learn, he didn't catch on, at least, not to my observation. "You sure?" he asked. I nodded, not completely sure if I could convince myself that I was okay. It was then that I could've sworn I'd seen Hiei from the other side of the window.

Did he find Yukina?

"I'll be right back," I said, mustering what little willpower and energy that had survived to go up yet another flight of stairs. While pulling myself up, I could see Yukina coming down. She stopped.

"O dear! You're hurt, hold on a minute and let me assist." she said compassionately.

Ice maiden was a horrible understatement.

She was more like an ice angel if you were to ask me.

Her voice rang like sweets chimes on a spring day, and her touch was cool and soft, and it was as if all the pain from my stomach evaporated within seconds. My fatigue was still present, but the excruciating pain that had previously resided within my stomach and moved out, replaced with a warm and tingling feeling. But I still hadn't mentioned how beautiful she was. I suddenly felt inferior as a woman to her, her long tinted white hair flowed like water and her large eyes was like an inviting fireplace of warmth and love.

Definitely Hiei's sister.

"I hope this helps...O! I should go help your friends too!" she exclaimed, trotting down the stairs in a hurried fashion. Walking up the stairs, I saw Hiei alongside with Kurama, fixated upon a certain point that I could only assume was Yukina.

He was safe.

"Since when did you two get here?" I asked weakly, but hoping to give them an impression of anger and maybe annoyance. Hiei shrugged, and he could've smiled, I could've been delirious as well.

"I've been here for a while. disposing of trash," he said, pointing to an uncontrollable man laughing in hysteria. Someone certainly didn't take their meds today.

"Did you, did you tell Yukina?" I inquired, though feeling more drowsy by the second. Hiei didn't answer, he was still fixated upon his sister who was smiling and laughing down below, as if nothing had ever occurred. As if she'd been free this entire time, or as if she was reuniting with old friends. I never completely understood Yukina.

"He...he didn't want to tell her," Kurama said, filling in for Hiei's silence. Hiei glanced up.

"She...she deserves to be happy. She believes her brother is someone great, I want her to continue think that way. Can you imagine the horror she'd feel if she found out her beloved brother was a common felon?" he answered, his gaze returning to his sister. He closed his eyes, and a sense of calamity coming over his face.

"It's easier to watch from afar."

"Hiei..." But before I could finish that train of thought, my head began to spin violently and I could feel the entire room beginning to move on its own.

I collapsed, I was expected to hit the hard tile once again, but to my comfort, I did not. Rather, I was swooped up by strong and consoling arms. I could feel the light whisper against my neck, and soft voice echoing within my ears, the soft lullaby that everything was going to be okay. I wouldn't bet money on it, but I think it was Kurama.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

Taking a rather large bite from my lunch, my eyes followed the movements of a rather dark and unusually glum Kuwabara whom seemed to have taken Eyeore's concept to life. Though I knew it wasn't really his fault. Who could blame him for getting upset after Yukina just ran off back into the ice glaciers? But then again, it wasn't as if he'd actually known the girl… I think that was the part that really had me going. Already irked by his gloomy disposition, I began to get even more irritable as I noticed his three buddies all grouped together, and making various bets on said sad sap.

"Five hundred yen1 says it's a new image."

"Four hundred yen says he saw a downer movie."

"Eight hundred yen says he got dumped!"

"Bull's eye, Kirishima!" said Yusuke, chiming in rather chipper. Giving a fierce glare, I gathered a lump of paper and proceeded to chuck in into Yusuke's annoying face. Botan, who either lacked the work to keep her preoccupied, or simply wanted to take a day off at the Jr. High School, seemed to be in agreement; her hands flew to her hips and her brows furrowed with anger.

"Now you take that back! Kuwabara wasn't dumped!" she said, jumping to Kuwabara's defense. I nodded, shoving another piece of cold chicken down my throat, drowning it down in my usual grapefruit juice, not entirely sure if I wanted to get into this conversation. Yusuke cocked one eyebrow and moved in on Botan.

"Then what else do you call Yukina ditching him to go back to the ice world?" he asked, as someone really expected Yukina to follow us back to our home. And for that matter, where would she stay? I couldn't see Shizuru honestly allowing her to stay, or at least, not with us, there just wasn't enough space to keep all four of us. (In all honesty, she'd probably let Yukina stay, but kick Kuwabara out into the streets.)

"Personally, I don't care if he was dumped or not, all I know is my cousin is moping around like a wet rag and I don't know what the hell to do about it! I've been picking my brain and I still don't know a way to cheer him up, except the obvious reason of course." I voiced, thinking my thoughts aloud, a rather bad habit of mine. It was then that I suddenly felt rather stupid, as if "DUH! Why didn't I think of that before" thought ran through my mind like a jack-rabbit on steroids.

"Hey guys, there's a beach somewhere around here, right?" I asked, knowing that since Japan happened to be an _**island **_that somewhere or another there had to be a coast. Both Botan and Yusuke nodded, and my lips split into a wide grin.

"Well then! Let's throw a party! We can grill, and just hang out, and then go to the movies, anything to get his mind off of Yukina! We can invite Kurama and Hiei as well! What do you guys think?" I asked, getting a bit too excited, not quite sure if I wanted the party to cheer Kuwabara up, or myself. But, the idea went by pretty smoothly with Yusuke and Botan, as they both nodded in agreement, though not completely sure in what they were getting themselves into.

"Great! I'll go to Kurama's and tell him about it, and then we'll go tail Hiei after school…this Sunday sound fine?" I asked. Botan laughed and gave me a squeeze and Yusuke gave a chuckle and said that that would be fine. Grinning ear to ear, I was eager for the day to end.

I was actually (despite my horrible sense of direction, as stated before, on normal conditions, I wouldn't be able to find my way out of a wet paper sack without getting lost at least twice) getting to know my way around the town, not to mention Kurama's, I mean, "Shuichi's" school. I found that I was just as knowledgeable on where to go within his school as I was my own (due to the fact that I constantly went to him for assistance on school work, which I found Yusuke and Kuwabara not only to be lacking, but completely retarded)! Teachers even acted eerily nice and extremely polite to me once they realized that I was Kurama's friend. Like, REALLY nice to me. I think one of them offered food to me at one point, and me, (being the fatty that I am, a sucker for all Asian food) always accepting warmly. Despite this, I always felt perpetual glares being tossed my way, and it was apparent that most of the teenage girls didn't appreciate my constant socializing. Though it pretty common knowledge that Kurama had its own fan club stalking his every movement, I could always be mistaken. (Right?)

I found it easy to find Kurama though, for he was always in the science lab, hovering over some botany book, mixing, combining, exploding some exotic plants or another to together to make God knows what. But he always took a break whenever I stopped by, which made me feel good. I never even had to say anything, it was like, he knew that I was there. Shoving the door aside I launched myself like a flying cat into the room.

"Shuichi!" I exclaimed, tossing my things aside like dirty cloths and running over to him like a small child would to their mother. In that aspect, I was a bit immature, since I never really had many friends back in the States, or even a mother to run to when I came home, so I found that I was over protective and a bit clingy to the ones that I had.

But Kurama didn't pay any mind to my immaturity; he just simply donned his usual smile and stopped whatever he was doing while taking off his lab coat.

"Well then, so what pleasure do I owe this unexpected visit?" he said, his voice always sounding so elegant, making my speech sound rough and unintelligent in comparison. But that never seemed to stop my love for talking, or "babbling" as Yusuke calls it. I then proceeded to spill what had occurred at lunch time, and how I thought we could cheer up Kuwabara, and then the beach and the movies and so on and so forth. I wondered how Kurama, and everyone else for that matter, put up with my constant babbling. But Kurama agreed whole heartedly with me.

"That's a wonderful idea Kit, not only for Kuwabara, but for everyone a s well. That previous mission left a bit of a dark cloud on everyone," he commented truthfully.

My heart did a double take, "That's awesome! The only other problem needed to be solved is finding Hiei, which shouldn't be too difficult, and getting some equipment for grilling, since mine happens to be in the States…and I don't think that Kuwabara or Yusuke happen to have a grill…gas or charcoal." I said, trying to analyze two different things at the same time, epically failing. Kurama gave a slight chuckle.

"I happen to have a small portable grill, it's not the best thing around, but I think it might be able to solve our little predicament. Plus, I could assist you with the cooking, you wouldn't have to be the only one cooking," he offered sweetly. My ears perked up with that.

"HELL YES!...Hey, I didn't think guys knew how to cook (not at this age at least), wow, guess you learn something new every day! (At least now I don't have to go and buy a grill, I was about to dread that!)" I replied, utterly amazed.

"Yes, I may not be five star chef, but I think I satisfy everyone's taste buds. Now, if you will permit me, after we find Hiei, it would be my pleasure if you were to allow me to walk you home," he asked as he started to gather his belongings. My heart began to pump a bit faster. This was turning out to be EXACTLY like one of my romance manga that I kept hidden behind the rest (since growing up a bit of a tomboy, I made for certain that no one had found out about my guilty shojo tendencies hidden behind my numerous manga of blood and gore) . I giggled in joyous ecstasy, I couldn't wait to return home and tell Shizuru, she'd probably be relieved in hearing that I actually had a crush on someone _**real **_for once.

"That would make me really happy!" I said getting up and straightening my skirt.

It behooved me how easily I had adapted to wearing a skirt; despite my initial grudges against the horrid things, they really weren't so bad, just crazy uncomfortable, and very awkward at various times, but all and all, I just tried to forget that I was wearing one. We encountered a few dirty glares towards my way, but I brushed them off with ease; my happiness had exceeded to the gauge, no one could have pissed me off now. The only thing in my attire that bothered me right now was my shoes; since Hiei typically didn't hang around in the city, we normally would take an off beaten dirt road through the woods. And with these God forsaken shoes, whose material had to have been made from recycled leather and worn out soles, were not made for walking on dirt trails. Especially when you go about a half of a mile. Kurama numerous times offered to carry me, but my silly pride reared its ugly head, preventing me the glee of being carried by a prince. I almost praised the Lord when I began to sense a familiar aura.

"Come on out Hiei!" Kurama called, looking rather peculiarly at my tugging of my feet. I shook my head immediately, almost instinctively knowing what he was going to ask when a silhouetted figure jumped down from the tree tops and stood before us, a four foot ten; Hiei. From interrogations with Kurama, I learned that Hiei really didn't live anywhere, he just kind of lived wherever fitted him best at the time. It made me rather sad, thinking about it, I felt as if people should always have a home to return to, even if it wasn't anything great. But just that feeling of home that was what was important in my book.

"Hiya Hiei," I said. Hiei shrugged his shoulders in response.

"What is it you two want with me now?" he asked, proceeding to shove his hands into his pockets in defiance. Kurama snickered ever so slightly.

"We just wanted to deliver an invitation, if you would do the honors, Kit," Kurama offered. I jumped forward, not needing a second chance.

"Well, we just figured it would be fun to go spend a day at the beach, eat, and then go to the movies and hang out a bit. And we wanted to know if you could come along, because I think it'd be great (along with everyone else) if you could come join us," I said, trying to be as convincing as possible, trying not to epically fail. Hiei raised his brow in confusion.

"Why? I'm sure I won't enjoy it, I'm no good at social events, you're idiot cousin could tell you even that much," Hiei replied sourly.

No, I was not about to let Hiei get the best of me this time. I was going to get him to come, even if it killed (unfortunately in my case, that might just happen if I pushed too far, but my "common sense" button seemed to have been switched off at the time, I find that whenever I'm around Kurama, it finds itself more often than not switched off) .

"O come on!" I pleaded, "Everyone is going to be there and it would be a great chance to get to know everyone and prove to Kuwabara that you're not as antisocial as he thinks you are! And plus, then I can get to know you even better! PUH-LEEZ!" I begged, putting extreme emphasis on the please. The stare down went for a total of a few minutes before Hiei gave way and shrugged his shoulders in a half way admit of defeat.

"What the hell, I'll go, but ONLY to get you off of my back," he mumbled coldly, but that didn't bother me. I hopped over and gave him a large hug, embracing the cool cloth and small stature of Hiei.

"Thanks so much!" I exclaimed. Hiei immediately brushed me aside, and turned quickly to the side, and did he…was that a blush?

Valuing my life, I decided not to press the matter, since it already was an amazing feat that I had gotten Hiei to even come to the event to begin with. We left shortly after making Hiei swear that he'd meet us on Sunday by Yusuke's house. He claimed he'd be there, though I could tell it didn't appear as though he was looking forward to it, I was going to prove him wrong and give him the time of his life! I thought defiantly, almost forgetting that the whole point of the project was to make Kuwabara happy, but hey, details, details. We walked for a good distance before we stopped about a block away from the apartment.

"Well, as much as I hate to say this, I should probably find my way back now, I'm sure my mother is beginning to fret about now," he said, and did I detect a hint of discontent in his voice? Was he sad about leaving me? No, I was getting my hopes up, Kurama wouldn't like me, I wasn't anything special, and he had numerous girls all begging for his attention. I shook my head.

"Don't worry about it, thanks for taking me this far, and for helping me find Hiei. Moral support was necessary for conning him into that," I laughed. It was then that Kurama gave a sort of smile that I wasn't familiar with. It wasn't his usual sweet, almost fake smile, but rather, almost the mere upward turn of the corners of his mouth, soft, and subtle. He leaned down to eye level and brushed his velvety lips against the side of my cheek. Even if it was only for a mere second, I could still feel the sensation that shot through my body like an arrow from a bow as he receded. He then waved goodbye as if nothing had happened, leaving me a rather deep shade of scarlet, matching that of his hair, and paralyzed in a sense of glee.

"OMG!" I squealed massively, receiving multiple curious stares from passerbys, as I darted home, shoving the door open, slamming it shut and attacking Shizuru in a furious frenzy.

"Shizuru! You'll never believe what just happened!" I cried happily, pinching myself in numerous places, to make sure that I wasn't dreaming for the first time in my life. Shizuru glanced up from the article she was reading about middle age women and their tendencies, and took her cigarette from her mouth.

"Something good, I presume for you to be bothering me about it," I launched myself onto her bed, still bobbing up and down continuously.

"Something better than good, absolutely fantastic! You know that boy I've been telling you about, Kurama? Well, he just…he just…!" I squealed once more, the words not coming out quite right, a mixture of slight embarrassment and extreme joy simultaneously running through my veins. Shizuru smiled, as if she knew where I was going with this.

"He kissed you, right?" she guessed, chuckling slightly. I gave her a curious look.

"How on earth did you know?" I asked, realizing my cheeks were stained pink from glancing back at the mirror that hung on the opposite wall. She simply shrugged, almost going back to her paper.

"I can tell, sisters are good for that, but just don't get ahead of yourself kiddo," she said, brushing her hair to the side. I grinned as I laid my head back against the pillow.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay. I'm just really happy right now!"

Shizuru gave me the look of "why is it I don't believe you?" but didn't mention anything as she looked at the clock and stared at me, "Well, you and your happy butt better go inform Kuzuma that you're home, I bet he's sick to his stomach worrying about you. O, and before you go on an hour rant, Botan already informed me about the beach." Shizuru explained.

Giving a thumbs up as the sign of "okay", I jumped from the bed and out into the living room for Kuwabara.

*********************

Yusuke contemplated whether or not he should gel his hair back or not for their escapade to the beach. While he was almost fairly certain that someone at some time or another was going to obnoxiously shove him into the frigid water, that wasn't complete reason not to at least start off looking good, right? I mean, he needed all the help he could get if Kurama was his adversary between himself and Kit. While on Kit, he began to wonder if she could cook as good as she claimed, or was she merely blowing hot air (Yusuke had tried to find her faults, but to his dismay, the only he could truly find was her obsession with Kurama, her ability to be ten times louder than everyone else in the room, and her quick temper that would occasionally lash out at the poor soul who happened to be closest.), and in a mean, twisted way, he almost hoped that she wasn't, but only secretly. But he pushed that aside; that wasn't his real objective. All that mattered was that Kit was going to be in a bathing suit (and Lord help him if she was in a bikini, it would take all he could to keep himself in check) and he would be content.

Throwing his white shirt on, he shoved his belongings into a small duffle bag that contained his towel, some sun tan lotion, and a his pair of sunglasses that he wore proudly, despite Kit's constant snickering at how outdated they were. Realizing it was later than he'd expected, he gathered that the gang should be here any moment now if they were going to catch the one o'clock train.

DING DONG!

Right on cue, he thought, heading towards the door. And behind door number one---

Was Kuwabara, Botan, and Kit, all adorning their beach attire, bags slung over their shoulders, and glistening from sun tan lotion. Both the girls had pulled their hair from their face in similar fashion, and to Yusuke's dismay, he could not tell what kind of bathing suit Kit was wearing, or if she was even going to wear one at all! Draping her usually curvy frame was a rather large and plain t-shirt that went past her waist-line, and to make matters worse, she was wearing a long shorts that could have probably fit him if he'd wanted them to, almost reaching her ankles. God damn it, he thought, she could at least had the decency to have worn short shorts for the rest of us here. The outfit was not flattering, and it disappointed Yusuke; not that she wasn't still pretty, but it definitely did not enhance anything, if you catch my drift. Leading them in the apartment, Kit flopped down on the floor, stripping her sandals from her feet.

"Great! Now all we have to do is wait for-" Cut off by the chime of the doorbell, Kit gave a jubilant laugh as she hopped up like a bunny to answer the ringing door. And behind door number two revealed—Kurama and Hiei! Kurama looked the same as usual, his hair tidy and tucked back, his static expression still there, and still finding a way to be the most formal dressed of them all in his collared white shirt and a pair of khaki slacks. Hiei on the other hand looked like that of someone who had just been damned to hell for all of eternity with hot iron being burned into their eyes. And leave it to "Mr. Perfect" to be holding the very item for their grilling. Looks as though _**he's **_helping Kit cook, Yusuke thought bitterly, not helping but to roll his eyes in apparent disgust, and Kurama returning the favor with a his usual sickening smile. Kit, oblivious to the tension between them, twirled in a circle, grabbing her cousin's hand and dragging him out the door.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!"

***************************

It was a perfect day if there was ever a perfect day. Clouds provided no barrier, the sky a pale blue, and the sunlight streaking down brightly upon us. The ocean was a perfect gem, glistening in all her glory, a haven for those in need of relief and relaxation! Plus, Shizuru had come in handy in convincing a buddy of hers to led us his beach for the day (how she accomplished this was beyond me, Kuwabara tossed around the idea that she'd blackmailed him into doing it, but she wouldn't do that…would she?) But as Kuwabara and Kurama preoccupied themselves with attempting to pitch the tent, I could see Hiei skulking to the other side of the beach by the cliff. So he thinks he can run huh? I thought slyly, well I'll get him, if it's the last thing I—

"Kit," I whizzed around to see Kurama, breaking my train of thought, but finding myself turning rather red, the vivid memory of a few nights ago still horribly, yet delightfully fresh within my mind.

"Yes?" I replied, doing myself the favor and stripping myself of these God awful clothes that Kuwabara had insisted that I wear for at least the trip up. I actually had picked a cute white sundress strung with lavender ribbons, but Kuwabara said that it was a bit on the short side and that he clearly revealed my butt, so he nixed that and threw some of his old dirty clothes my way.

"While I set up the grill, you can go and do what you desire for the time being, I'll call you when you're needed…and that swim suit looks rather cute on you, if I may add," he noted, giving more of a seductive smirk my way, and clearly laughing at my scarlet response. Whether he was simply teasing me, or being serious, I didn't care, I was flattered none the less. I saw Kuwabara heading towards the drink stand and Botan towards the ice cream, so I figured that I could go swimming for a change.

****************************

Yusuke, who had decided from the beginning to shirk off from assisting the others in setting up the tent, had set up his own bit of paradise with a long, fold out beach chair along with a few drinks and his towel. Laying upon it, he gazed into the infinite vast blue sky that stretched from horizon to horizon, his mind in sync with the drifting clouds that had made their home in the sky. No matter what he did, or didn't do for that matter, Kit had seemingly found a permanent place within his mind, one that always found its way through, and one that was constantly knocking. At the very least, he could at least state truthfully that she was unlike any girl he'd previously met in Japan. While he'd certainly experienced similar violent tendencies (Keiko being the first to come to mind), he'd never met a girl so…so, well, he'd just never met a girl like her before. During the lunch hours, she had no problem hanging around him and Kuwabara, along with three other guys. She showed no signs of uncertainty, or even the state of being uncomfortable. She joked and laughed just like the rest of them, and it puzzled Yusuke that at times he himself would forget that she was even a girl, that is, until he actually looked at her. Then her beauty would astound him even more than her personality, and it pissed him off knowing the fact that Kurama was now cradling her within the palm of his hands, that stupid dumb fuck. He then made a mental note to establish a plan of attack to win Kit back over, but it was at that moment that a rather dark shadow had been cast over him. Looking up, he became rather startled and almost fell off of his comfy seat, if it wasn't for his ninja like reflexes (thank Genki for that!).

Three inches.

Now, Yusuke didn't profess to be the greatest at math, but he figured Kit's boobs were about three inches from his face as she hovered over him like a buzzing bee. Only, Yusuke wouldn't have minded it as much if she stung him.

"Hi Yusuke!" Kit exclaimed, clearly oblivious of Yusuke's slight discomfort, or of her boobs being too close to his face. As Yusuke blushed, he then confirmed to himself that he would not have been so flustered, or embarrassed, if Kit donned the attire she was originally wore, but now, to Yusuke's discomfort, along with guilty joy, she was wearing a rather revealing bikini. Cut in the trendy triangle shape that tied back in a halter top, cleavage was clearly there, and as stated before, in Yusuke's face. As she took a step back, he could not help but stare continuously at her tan body that made him even jealous. If it wasn't for her short stature, she could have easily passed for a swimsuit model, her luscious curves filling out the swimsuit quite well, while still showing off her small, petite waist.

"Wanna go swimming with me?" she asked, still clearly oblivious. Yusuke wasn't sure if her naivety had caused him to decline, because every fiber in Yusuke's being was screaming "yes! Yes you stupid piece of shit! Yes!" But, needless to say, in an act of fear, he turned her down.

"O yes, because I'm so tan, I can afford to go to the beach and not attempt to get a shade darker and have the appearance of a ghost. Just because you're naturally dark, doesn't mean everyone else is!"

'God damn it, I'm stupid' was the first thought that went through Yusuke's angry, peeved brain. Never before had he'd felt like such an idiot. It was then that Kit leaned closer, close enough to kiss if Yusuke had had the balls to do so, and her brows furrowed. Slapping him over the head, she turned around in one swift motion.

"Jerk," she said, not looking back.

****************************

Ooo! I can't believe the audacity of that man! Whatever compelled him to be such a jackass was beyond me! I mean, what the hell did I ever do to him?! I wondered, decided that at that moment, if I couldn't have fun with Yusuke, I was going to accomplish my second objective. Finding Hiei. Deciding to be ninja like in my approach, I dove into the ocean's blue arms, and immediately winced at her cold and frigid welcome. I shivered, but figured the best way to overcome my freezing fear, was to dump my head in. After doing so (and almost blowing my cover during the process, I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to prevent it, the water was so cold) I figured I could swim over to Hiei, and sneak attack him, like a ninja! But putting all jokes aside, it saddened me to see Hiei by himself, isolated from everyone. What past pain or experience caused him to separate him from his friends and society at that. I felt so compelled to help him, though I wasn't quite sure if this was the right way to go about it, but hey, nothing could be hurt from trying, right? Coming up from the right side, his gaze fixated upon some random object NOT in my direction, I pounced upon the small man, his reaction quite gratifying.

Nearly missing the large boulder from the cliff behind him, Hiei clutched his chest like that of an old man who had just experienced a stroke, his mouth in a scowl, eyebrows narrowed, but his eyes in a slight smirk. I laughed, resting upon the hot white sand, it slightly burning the inside of my thighs.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" I wasn't quite sure if I myself was being factious, or actually speaking with sincerity, but Hiei took it as the previous, his discontent apparent in his expression. Growling, his proceeded to sit back down on the sand with Kit, eyeing her suspiciously.

"If I told you that years had been taken off my life, how you who respond?" he replied bitterly. Being negative wasn't going to get rid of me that easily.

"The ocean, it's really pretty, isn't it?" I asked randomly, hoping to start some form of conversation. Hiei shrugged.

"I suppose, I don't figure what's so great about it?" he responded, not looking at me. Bringing my knees to my chest, I gave a light hearted giggle.

"Well, I never really thought about it that way, I mean, in one way, it's just a big puddle of water, but, if you look at it in another way, it's a haven for life, the key to survival, and it shimmers like a precious gem in the sunlight. So in a way, it's like, a diamond. Diamonds were originally just lumps of coal, but after years and years, they turn into something beautiful, something of value worth more than any could imagine. Oops, I guess that really doesn't make much sense, does it?" I said, not really sure where I was going with that. But to my delight, Hiei laughed, an awkward, sort of shy laugh.

"You certainly are a weird one."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment!" my lips had never spread into such a wide grin before. But Hiei's gaze turned down to his feet, and his speech became rather stuttered.

"You know… you have me wondering about things I didn't before now," he stated. I blushed, what on earth was he referring to? Did my absurd speech actually reach out and grab him like intended? Or was I merely imagining things?

"Like what?" My heart skipped beats, I didn't know why I was so excited, this new sensation was unlike any I'd felt before. I was brimming with joy, was I really making an impact on someone's life?

"It's just…you wouldn't understand."

"I might."

"…"

"Lonely?"

Hiei turned and looked curiously at me, as if I had said something unusual, or even taboo. Did I hit the target? Fumbling with my hands, I began to wonder why I seemed so anxious, when I was not the one being questioned, or even the topic of the conversation.

Glancing back towards the glistening sea, Hiei folded his arms to his chest, and he didn't dare attempt to turn his eyes towards my own. Despite their attention not focused on me, I could see his glassy eyes swirling with confusion, not unlike my own not so long ago. In fact, Hiei was very similar to a former me, a younger me, and hollow me. Perhaps that was the reason why I was so fixated upon Hiei. Was I afraid, that he would make the same mistakes that I had? Was I fearful that he could spiral into the hell I was still living in? Or had he already made hell his home? Was all that I was doing fruitless? No, no negative thoughts, I must think positive.

"You know about that?" he inquired.

I nodded, knowing all too well the feelings of despair and dread, not to mention the indescribable sense of seclusion that comes from a deserted home after a long day at school. The long nights of paranoia, worrying where my parents had run off to at this hour. My dad at the office, my mother at her friend's. Even my friends would find new and exciting ways to isolate me from their everyday life. It was like hell had simply taken hold my life, squeezing it like you would a bird, within it large hands. Yes, I knew lonely. Perhaps not quite the lonely that Hiei must have been tormented with, but I knew lonely. No one could deny me that.

"My parents had a rather bad habit of not being around when they were most needed." I responded, feeling a slight sense of betrayal in divulging my parent's faults. "But, it's no fun, being alone. And just because you have friends, doesn't mean that you're weak or that it makes you vulnerable." I continued, not sure if I was saying such things to really convince Hiei, or convince myself. I knew that I had struggled with such a concept earlier within my life, but somehow, I managed to pull through, or at least, that was what I kept telling myself. So far it'd worked, but it wasn't a life time guarantee, that was for sure.

Silence swept over us.

Hiei sat, remaining composed and silent, like he usually did. I myself preferred not to continue, feeling that it was not my place at the moment to go on babbling. I would wait patiently for his reply, if I even got one. It seemed as though time drug by, every second ticking away like hours. But it was then that when Hiei proceeded to clear his throat, I became surprised at the sudden noise that I almost whacked my head against the rock that laid forgotten behind us.

If there was anything that I felt as if Hiei had over anyone, it was this. Never before in my entire life had I heard such heartwarming laughter. It reminded me of a newborn's, pure and awkward. It soaked through one's skin and was warm to the touch, as if you could reach out embrace it in all of its luxury.

"See! You're cute when you laugh!" I complimented, giving a clearly fake wink.

Hiei, with traces of laughter still lingering on his face, raised his eyes in disbelief, and if I wasn't mistaken, I could have sworn that I could see his cheeks tint a lovely shade of rosy pink. But I could have been just hallucinating, that was always an available option. ALWAYS.

Then, the conversation was sparked, like ravishing bears enticed by golden honey. We talked about our likes, our dislikes, Hiei in his awkward, short and choppy sentences in comparison to my lengthy and in depth explanations. Who'd thought.

************************

Now Yusuke was a bit befuddled. He had reluctantly accepted the demeaning fact that Kit was head over heels for Mr. Pretty boy over there, so why was she over there with Hiei?! How fickle was this woman?! Deciding to go to the expertise on this situation (and the only other woman on the beach), Yusuke decided to go to Botan for her opinion. This, to Yusuke's utter dismay, led him to a dead end. Botan and her useless self simply replied with the obvious fact that Kit was a social person and just loved to talk to people. He could've figured that much. The question was, why was she talking to Hiei?!

He shook his head, he had to stay focused. He couldn't let him forget who his real adversary was. What scheme could he conjure to battle Kurama's extreme politeness, and supposed "good looks". It was then that he heard Kurama in his high pitched shriek call Kit over.

"Kit! If it's not a bother, could you please assist me over here by the grill?" Damn pretty boy and his friggen' polite speak, who the hell does he think he is? Yusuke thought bitterly as Kit frantically attempted to get up, only to slip on hot sand onto her ass. He wanted to point and laugh, but he figured his last screw up probably still lingered vividly in her mind. And hot damn she looked sexy, despite her clumsiness. He wasn't quite sure if she'd bought the bathing suit a few years ago, before puberty hit, but she was certainly busting. Not that he minded, but he could see Kuwabara's clear discontent with her bathing attire. He stopped her before she reached her destination.

"What the hell do you think you're wearing?" Kuwabara asked, looking over her, his face tinting a light red at her lack of modesty. Kit repeated the gesture, but apparently didn't get the same impression.

"A bikini, what else do you think I'm wearing?" she asked, rolling her eyes while brushing her hair aside. Kuwabara defiantly stomped his foot.

"Go put a shirt over that, I don't know how you guys dress in America, but over here, girls don't dress like…"

"Like what?!"

"Like that! You're swimsuit is almost about to burst!"

"No way! This is honestly not that bad, and I paid way too much money not to show it off!" she retaliated, her hands flying to her hips.

"That's not all you're showing off," Kuwabara muttered under his breath.

Yusuke felt the need to interject.

"O come on, let her keep the bikini on, I personally think it looks great," Kit jumped with joy at someone taking her side, while Yusuke swore a blood vessel exploded within Kuwabara's cranium. That did well to boost Yusuke's confidence.

But this self satisfaction didn't last long. Everyone was being sickeningly nice, and strangely relaxed. It didn't help that Kit was clinging to Kurama like un-weaned puppy to its mother, having wonderful conversations, without needing him of course. Even Hiei appeared as though he was almost enjoying himself…and was he talking to Botan?! He, for one, didn't like this happy go lucky atmosphere, and felt a sudden urge to "liven" this party up. The real question though, was how? His eyes wandered back to Kit, whose back was turned to him. It was then that he made an important discovery.

So she was wearing a tie back halter huh?

************************

Nothing, absolutely nothing, I was positive that nothing in this entire world could ruin my day as of right now. All of my objectives within my secret mission had been completed.

Objective 1: Distract Kuwabara from Yukina.

Affirmative (She hadn't even been mentioned yet).

Objective 2: Make Hiei have fun.

Affirmative (He was even talking to Botan!)

Objective 3: Get some quality time with Kurama.

Affirmative (We were inseparable )

Bonus Objective: See Kurama naked chest

A-F-F-I-R-M-A-T-I-V-E! (I almost fainted at sight, and I knew my nose was welling up with blood.)

Yusuke, on the hand, was acting like a total jackass. He was like soggy, cast aside piece of bread, hovering on the opposite side. I almost went over to say something to him, but after recalling his earlier rudeness towards me, I shrugged it off. But as I was talking to Kurama, who was courteously listening to my tales of America, I heard a small "zzp!" noise from behind me. I didn't notice exactly what had occurred when two things happened.

One, I felt a slight breeze up top, and two, I'd never in my life seen Kurama's face turn as the same shade as his hair.

Suddenly my face imitated Kurama's, and I reached for my bathing suit top and began to frantically tie it around my neck. Squeezing my eyes shut, I prayed that no one else had caught a glimpse of this disaster. I was not so fortunate. Everyone's face was scarlet, all except Yusuke, who was doubled over in hysteria. Never in my life.

"Whoa-o Kit! Seems you've been hiding out on us! I reckon you're about a C?" Yusuke laughed obnoxiously. Anger flooded my entire being, and in one motion I got to my feet and backhanded him across his face, hoping to wipe that damn grin from his lips.

"You stupid, God-forsaken piece of shit!" I screamed, mixing in other American profanity, knowing my Japanese swears were limited, "That has got to be the worst thing anyone has ever done to me in my entire life you bastard!" Reason had left the building. I was still hitting him with all my might, realizing that I was crying in frustration.

Remember when I said that nothing could have ruined my day.

I stand corrected.

"I'm not speaking to you ever again Yusuke Urameshi!" I did an about face and angrily plopped myself down where I had once sat. It didn't help that Kurama's face was still quite pink, so the conversation, though continuing, felt rather awkward. Though to my guilty delight, from my peripheral vision, I could see Hiei and Kuwabara united in a common good to beat the living shit out of Yusuke. 'Good for them' I thought, still not completely believing on what had just occurred, a sense of burning hatred running through my veins.

Time rolled on, and things somewhat returned back to normal, but I was still furious with Yusuke. We packed up our stuff and headed for the train station, hoping we weren't going to miss our movie. Personally, I wasn't too fond of Japanese movies, they're special effects were lacking, and some were just plain corny, though I had seen a few spectacular ones, so I kept my fingers crossed. (Kuwabara mentioned something of it being a fighting flick, which was good, anything with murderous intentions had to be decent, right?) After running by the house to drop off our beach accessories, I quickly threw on something more suitable and we walked towards the movies.

And true to my word, I had yet to even utter a syllable to Yusuke, who had on numerous occasions attempted to apologize. But I didn't care, I was still pissed. I would simply ignore him or start a conversation with Botan, who received a few dirty looks from Yusuke at her assisting me.

The movie theater was packed beyond reason, but in Kurama's intelligence, he'd bought the tickets previously, so that we could sit together (Japanese theaters have the seats printed on your tickets, like in air planes). Kuwabara bought massive amounts of popcorn, but I craved something sweet. But then again, I was always craving something sweet, particularly when I was upset or angry. And by God was there a lot of candy. And lord knows I didn't know any of them. Couldn't they had just had M&M's or Hershey? It was then that I felt someone tap my shoulder.

"Can't decide?" Kurama asked, almost laughing. I nodded, giving a nervous giggle.

"Yah, I have to admit, I'm not too knowledgeable on Japanese candy. For the most part, I normally just stick with the basics, but even those are absent!" I admitted, slightly exasperated. All I wanted was a friggen piece of chocolate! Kurama's lips parted into his beautiful smile.

"I'll pick you out a good one," he said as he went up to the register, as if he was going to pay. I blushed, this wasn't a date; he had no reason to pay for me. I ran up behind him and tugged on his sleeve.

"Don't worry I'll pay, I have money," I offered holding out the yen as proof. Kurama shook his head while still smiling, as he placed his hand over mine and guided my money back into my pocket.

"That's quite alright. It's my treat," I was about to argue when he smiled again and then I proceeded to shut up. Kurama had this uncanny knack of being able to manipulate you into doing what he desired. Well, at least, towards women. It was like an abnormal hypnosis that he would cast upon you, his large jade eyes sinking into your own, compelling you do his bidding. Those eyes could practically made me do whatever he wanted me to do, if he so wanted. Kurama handed me a small box of candy and surprisingly in romanji (English) characters. In large letters it read "Pocky". Chocolate covered biscuits, if my Japanese hadn't failed me. But as I was ogling the foreign chocolate, we walked into the theater, where I proceeded to sit in between Kurama and Hiei, making for certain that I was not about to sit next to Yusuke if my life depended on it. While the obnoxious previews rolled, I opened the package and took a small nibble upon the stick like candy. It was unlike anything I'd tasted before.

"O my god, this is amazing!" I said, quickly gobbling up the remainder of the stick, and reaching in the box for another. The chocolate complimented the biscuit, or in actuality, the cookie, quite well. I wanted to say it was a very light dark chocolate, despite what the box advertised. Kurama chuckled silently.

"You like it?" I nodded, as I took a few pieces out and held them out for him and Hiei.

"Here, you two can have some, it's the least I can do for you paying for me," I said, making sure I was being insistent. Kurama hesitated, like he wanted to refuse, but took it in the end, and Hiei merely shrugged and took the candy without any argument or discontent. The lights began to dim and the then appeared on the large screen was pictures that hadn't been playing for the past ten minutes.

Needless to say, I had hoped the movie was better than the previews. To my dismay, it wasn't And to my added discomfort, my Pocky was gone before the movie even started. So in its stead, I simply downed a large Dr. Pepper, something I regretted about half way into the movie. My bladder had different plans than to just kick back and relax.

"Hey, I'm be right back, I'm going to the bathroom, kay?" I whispered to Kurama, without waiting for his reply, wove in and out like a ninja down the aisle and made a mad dash towards the ladies room.

Though after I had relieved myself, I looked in the mirror approvingly; my hair actually looked decent for having been in salt water for half of the day (and not actually doing anything with it before hand), and my previously caramel skin had now turned into a burnt chocolate tone. But as I was examining myself, I caught a glimpse of my apparent tan lines, only rehashing the horrible incident with Yusuke. It was at that that I angrily shoved open the door and back into the hallway towards the movie.

The concession line was pretty short now, hardly anyone was there, with the exception of the lingering teenagers that kept coming out for snacks every five minutes. Not thinking anything of it, I continued my mad rampage down the silhouetted hallway towards the movie, and as I pushed the door open and up the slope, I felt a tug. And then a grab--and then--I was pulled--All in one motion--I attempted to scream but a large hand stifled it. The theater was so dark, I couldn't even make out an outline. The only thing that I could hear was my thundering heartbeat. Whoever held me in his grasp yanked me to a small corner to the side.

It was then, that it happened.

His (I assume it was a man) lips met mine, crushing down upon me. I attempted to pull away, utterly disgusted and completely terrified. But the more I struggled, the tighter he squeezed; one hand clung to my arm, while his other forced my waist onto his.

This was not happening. It couldn't be happening.

Hot tears ran down my face in a furry.

I was always crying.

Crybaby.

Within my memory there is a time lapse where I cannot recall what occurred. All I know is my struggle ceased, and I stopped trying. I think the man was just as perplexed with my actions as I was, for his arm relaxed, and released my hand as he drew it to my face, causing it to tilt, and my lips to part slightly.

And I thought he'd kissed me before.

I don't know if my relaxation had been an invitation or what, but it was then that this small kiss turned into a passionate one. My back was to a wall, and his entire body had consumed my small frame. It was going too far, I couldn't breathe. My mouth felt like it was on fire, his tongue slid against the roof of my mouth and against my own. While this wasn't my first real kiss, at the same time, it was my first real kiss. But this wasn't to say that I enjoyed it, in fact, the more my body relaxed, the more irritated my mind became. I could feel his tongue slide farther back, near my molars if I wasn't mistaken. That's when I made my move. I bit down, hard.

Blood filled my mouth, and I can imagine his, for he jerked away for a split second. I then quickly pulled from his grasp in his moment of distraction, and from the reflection of the screen, I could see a bright pair of brown eyes. Not taking any more chances, I slapped the day lights out of him, and darted up the aisle and back to my seat, wiping the blood from my mouth as I went along. I was then extremely thankful of the darkness, it hid my scarlet, flustered face. And the part that frustrated me even more was the fact that it was just as much of his fault, as it was mine. Yes, it came onto me, but I let him. Yes, he kissed me first, but I kissed back. Yes, his grip was strong, but did I really try to break free? Glancing to the side, I noticed that Yusuke was absent in his seat.

"Kurama, where'd Yusuke run off to?" I asked. Kurama, in his courteous fashion, leaned close and whispered, so low that I almost didn't hear him that Yusuke left right after I did to get some more popcorn from the concession stand. It made sense, I thought, forgetting that I had not seen him at the concession stand moments ago, the pig really did like to eat. Needless to say, I was unable to concentrate on the movie. The entire scene replaying over and over within my mind. First the Yusuke fiasco, and now this?! What had I done today to offend God?!

The movie ended quicker than anticipate, and it was then that we went on our separate ways. Botan retreating back to the Spirit Realm, Hiei to his forest, Yusuke and Kuwabara raced back to our house, leaving me and Kurama strolling along towards my house.

"So, did you enjoy the movie?" he asked sincerely.

I bit my lip, after what had happened, I hadn't really paid close attention, I honestly didn't even know what it was about.

"Yah, it was definitely different," I said, hoping that it didn't sound like too much of a bold face lie. I pondered upon the notion of telling Kurama what had occurred at the movie theater. I mean, I could twist it to sound like I hadn't played any part, but then I dismissed the idea. Kurama would flip, and at worst would tell Kuwabara, and that would lead into a murderous blood hunt for the bastard. Not that I'd completely mind, but it was just too much trouble for one bastard. Nothing we would do could take back that kiss. But Kurama seemed to buy it, or at least, pretended that he did.

"O, and before I forget, thanks for the chocolate, that was really sweet of you," I continued, my cheeks staining rosy shade of red, though I wasn't quite sure if it was from my usual reaction, or from what had just occurred.

"It was nothing, I'm glad you enjoyed it," After that we became quiet and walked down the streets in silence. But not the bad kind, it wasn't an awkward silence that draped over the shoulders of those who are weary or upset, but the content kind, the kind that made you feel at peace, a sense of calm.

*******************************

Running was a curious thing for Yusuke. It was his way to vent his pent up emotions, to let them all stream out from the soles of his shoes and to slide down within the sweat that would trickle down his skin.

He had gotten slapped, twice, to be for certain. After the horrible atrocities that Yusuke had done upon Kit, it wasn't any wonder that she despised him. He could still feel the sting of his hand still lingering on his cheek. It seemed Kuwabara had a vague idea of what Yusuke was thinking. They both slowed down to a stop, and within a few seconds, Yusuke could hear the slamming footsteps of Kuwabara's goofy run.

"Look man, I dunno about you, but you certainly deserved that beating you took from Kit," Yusuke flinched at her name, and for a second thought that Kuwabara was referring to the latest incident, but let out a breath of relief after realizing he couldn't have meant for that, he didn't know, or rather, if he did, Yusuke wouldn't be alive at this second. But, to Kuwabara's clear discomfort, Yusuke didn't answer.

"Yah, whatever…" it wasn't really an answer, more of a filler response, simple to satisfy Kuwabara. It had the opposite effect, much to Yusuke's dismay.

"Hey, did something else happen between you two? Why is it you're all "blah" all of a sudden? Even after you played that dirty joke on Kit you weren't like this," Kuwabara stated, possibly in an attempt to get him to speak, or maybe it was simply an observation, Yusuke honestly couldn't tell. Yusuke didn't dare to even take a glance towards him. If Kit had been some stranger girl that Kuwabara had no association with, he would've confessed in a heartbeat his sinful deed. He would have loved to have thrown this off of his chest, guilt had seeped through every membrane of his body, eating away at him immediately after.

"I'm going home," replied Yusuke as he tore himself away from this "cheery" conversation and walked away, leaving Kuwabara dumbfounded as usual. But what exactly was he going to say, "yah, something happened, I just happened to take your extremely hot cousin to the side and passionately kissed her without even knowing who I was, how about that?" Yusuke could see how that would go wrong on so many levels of wrong. First, Kuwabara would probably convulse for a few seconds, pop a blood vessel, and then proceed to pound him into a small insignificant pile of rubble. He sighed and then leaned against the nearest lamp post; he gently stroked his bottom lip, not truly believing at what had just occurred. Closing his eyes, the memory was almost half as wonderful as the actual act of it. And was he merely hallucinating when she actually responded back, in his favor, if only momentarily?

Though his tongue was still throbbing from where she bit down, and in a strange, sadistic sort of way, her feistiness had the opposite effect on him, it actually turned him on. A lot. So much that it scared him; he could've pulled her back, but he was afraid, no, terrified, that if he did, he would've raped her then and there. And he couldn't even look her in the eyes now.

This led to the even more important question; what exactly was he going to do to make her forgive him. Begging is always an option, bribery is a close second, what would he want if he was pissed…A HA! Sweets, she loved sweets, and since lady luck was always his lady, he knew that she always craved ice cream, always. And it just so happened that he knew of a wondrous gourmet ice cream not too far from school. He grinned, his lips splitting, donning a Cheshire grin, they claimed that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so he must assume that it must be the same for women.

1 Yen is the currency used in Japan, 100 yen equals a little under 1 dollar in US currency.


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow! I'm on my sixth chapter! I appreciate all of you guys who have stayed with me so far!! I swear it gets better (I've actually written up to chapter 13). I hope Kit's not too annoying of a character, but anyhoo…R &R!!**

**Chapter VI**

Ever since I was a child, I was constantly cursed with the so called "amazing" ability to recall my dreams as vividly as memories. I was really loathing that as of right now. REALLY loathing it.

The morning after I had awoken wet, drenched in sweat from head to toe, it forming puddles on my brow. Not cool. I had yet to catch up to my breath, and my mind was spinning in the remembrance of the horrid hallucination. Kissing, passionately, with someone I didn't know.

Quiet, soft, quick whispers of love between us. I probably would have been fine if it had simply stayed there.

O damn my overactive imagination.

What puzzled me was how such notions even formed within my subconscious anyways, I'd never watched any movies of the such, nor had I even performed, or even thought of performing the things that myself and some stranger had done within the dream.

No one was to find out about this.

NO ONE.

What frightened me even more though, was how in said dream, I was not un-wanting. In fact, I was begging, pleading even, for it to continue, completely out of character. Or was I? Insecurities of my previous encounter and my lack of, or what I had thought lack of, struggle that I had put up with the man. So, would I struggle? Especially if it was someone I loved, would I struggle, or would I go with the flow?

Questions bombarded my own brain like the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, and I was hoping for a let up some time or another.

I rolled out of bed, almost hitting my head on the night stand, and hopped into the shower, making positively sure the water was going to be ice cold. I would regret this later, but hey, I regretted a lot of things. Like not blow drying my hair after showering. That wasn't thought out nicely.

I grunted after seeing the frizz of curls that had made their bed in my mass of hair. It was bad enough I was fretting like a mother hen, but I didn't need to look like one! Quickly tying my hair back, I left my bangs to frame my face, as if it was intentionally left curly, and grabbed my bag, hoping Kuwabara wasn't ready yet, save the trouble of getting lectured.

And of course, that damn Benedict Arnold had to be waiting impatiently with Yusuke Urameshi.

Traitor.

"Morning Kit," A futile attempt at a conversation, but an attempt none the less, I decided not to take the bait. Yusuke rolled his eyes in response.

"Still mad?" I didn't respond.

"I'll take that as a yes," I quicken my pace, hoping to leave him behind. I didn't pay him mind.

He ran up next to me, "O come on, I'M SORRY. I really am, I'll never do it again, I swear it," Pfft, he's funny, thinking a mere sorry was going to satisfy me. He must be on drugs.

"Okay, you've made me pull out my trump card. From my reliable, insider sources, I've found that you love ice cream, so, I just so happen to know of a fantastic gourmet ice cream parlor not too far from school. Just let me take you there, and I'll pay for anything you like, as much as you like, as long as I have enough money for it. Okay?" Yusuke offered, tilting his face slightly in front of mine, his chocolate eyes staring into mine, the usual impish glint lingering, but it was softer, sincerity was actually playing a part. So, in his own perverted way, he was trying to apologize. I could not believe I was about to do this.

"Alright, fine, it's a date, but promise that you won't do anything that I might kill you for!" I replied, my brows furrowing, throwing my finger in his face. Yusuke grabbed my hand and pulled it to his face.

"Promise."

***************************

As Kit waved good-bye and disappeared into the darkness of the school, Yusuke did a silent yes, his uneasiness slowly melting into the morning sun. He couldn't believe that it was going to be that easy in convincing her to come with him. Her disposition had definitely improved from glum and hatred to more of a cheerful, and dare he say "happy"? She had seemingly forgotten about what he'd done at the beach, he was thankful for that. Very thankful for that. Walking through the hallways, he accidently bumped by "Mr. Yukito". He tossed a glare his way, and continued on his way. Damn idiot, he thought; even if he wasn't on good terms with Keiko, he still didn't like that asshole. Yukito would never be good enough for Keiko. Never. But he shrugged, and after slumping down into his chair, he stole a glance at the clock. Nine o'clock, only seven more hours until four.

*****************************

I was actually quite surprised. Looking at the clock, I found myself sighing at the long hours before the school ended. Was I really this easy? Was the temptation of ice cream really that enticing? I then imagined mint chocolate chip ice cream, it's luscious cream, the rich chocolate melting in my mouth. O what sweet ecstasy! Yah, I was easily persuaded. Especially when it came to food. Plus, Yusuke could actually be nice at times, I mean, it was rare for a boy to actually apologize, and be sincere about it. Somehow or another, these thoughts carried on, so long that I forgotten that I was actually walking side by side with Yusuke towards the ice cream parlor, oblivious to his nonsense chatter, and about how he couldn't believe the amount of homework that the teachers had given him.

"Why do you care, you never do it anyways, I'm the one who should be complaining," I replied, with slight bitterness, giving him a soft punch. Yusuke stuck his tongue out in defiance.

"Well, maybe if sensei would give less homework, then maybe I'd actually do it," Yusuke pouted, sticking his nose in the air. I laughed.

"AKA, if he didn't give any at all," I smirked. Yusuke flushed and murmured something that I couldn't hear when we reached the parlor. The shop was rather quaint, dainty, and a bit on the small side. The exterior didn't impress me too much, but the interior struck me as adorable, fit to be displayed within a Sanrio store.

"O kawaii! Yusuke it's absolutely darling!" I squealed in my marvel. Yusuke's eyes were glued to the floor, and he transitioned into a shade that I'd never seen before, though I didn't care, as I started to read the menu. It was then that I let out a gasp; one ice cream was around 1000 yen, the equivalent of around $8.50, for the basic ice cream cone.

"O Yusuke, I can't…it's so much, I don't want to take all of your money," I said, suddenly feeling a tinge of guilt tugging at my sleeve like a kicked puppy. Yusuke surprisingly shrugged it off.

"Eh, don't worry about it, I'll just get one for you, I told you, it's my treat." He replied, smiling, as he punched my arm playfully. I grinned, fumbling with my hands, a nervous tendency of mine. Yusuke may be a pervert, and mean, and obnoxious, and maybe a bit of a jerk, but he was certainly a nice pervert.

"Well, maybe we can get one big one and share…this one looks good!" I said excitedly, pointing to an ice cream sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream, laced with strawberries, chocolate syrup drizzled with almonds sprinkled on top. Absolutely scrumptious. We ordered it and promptly sat down towards the window seat secluded from everyone. Yusuke was acting rather peculiar though, was he really that apprehensive about sharing ice cream?

"I hope you don't think I have cooties or anything. I swear I won't poison you," I giggled, pushing the ice cream around in the bowl. Yusuke flushed red again.

"O! No, it's not that…" he trailed off into a murmur of words that slurred together in an incomprehensive way. I shrugged, not knowing exactly what his problem was, not realizing that that was exactly how I sounded when around Kurama. I took a bite of the ice cream and squealed with delight.

"Wow! This is fantastic! I think this is the best ice cream I've ever had in my entire life! Here, try some," I said, taking the other spoon and shoving some ice cream into his mouth. He seemed startled, and I was convinced that his new red tint was going to forever stain his cheeks.

I broke into uncontrollable laughter, "So, Mr. Suave, what do you want to talk about, before your face turns into a cherry?" Who would have thought that the pervert that untied my top would turn red after something as dumb as an indirect kiss from a spoon? Yusuke, in similar guy fashion, shrugged his shoulders and said that he didn't care, whatever I wanted to talk about.

Well, if I knew what I was going to talk about, I wouldn't have asked! (Men! Such imbeciles!)

"I've got it!" I said, popping my fist into the palm of my hand, "You know, as much as I've hung around you for the past three months, I honestly haven't the faintest idea of what you're really like. All I've been able to deduct is that you're some perverted punk who likes to play nasty tricks (it was at this comment that Yusuke flushed maroon), but somehow ends up attempting to be sweet. So there is a conscience, somewhere, deep deep DEEP down in there. So just tell me a little about yourself, what you like, your childhood, anything that's bothering you, or anything that pops into your brain!" I said cheerfully, shoving another bite into my mouth, and then proceeding to do the same to Yusuke. He appeared…was hesitant the correct word? He gave a peculiar expression, but then I found nervous laughter breaking the surface and bubbling forth.

"You know, you're actually the first person to ask me that question," he said, chuckles of uneasiness still interrupting his speech. Now it was my turn to be silent; no one had ever asked him that before? Those were the basic of basic questions. How could no one have asked him that before? But Yusuke didn't notice, or chose to ignore my silence, and continued.

"Well, if you're really up to it, my favorite color happens to be green, I love boxing matches, or any kind of fight matches for that matter, and let's see…what else can I tell you…" it was then that Yusuke went into a spill of stories. His mother giving birth at a young age, thus feeling secluded after his father left him and his mother had to work, but in fact his mother really didn't act like a mother because of her immaturity, still a child herself in mind frame. He talked about how he wasn't too social, and the only person he'd talk to was Keiko, which is why her, deceiving him, was such a blow (my heart did a loop-de-loop at her name), and how before was the Spirit detective he was the school punk. He beat up kids, skipped school, smoked, drank, stole, and now that he looked at it, none of was really satisfying, he was truly miserable. He also revealed the story of his becoming Spirit detective through saving a young boy, and in return, him dying in a car accident and being brought back to life by Koenma (though he was really sketchy on those details…). He ended with the quirk of "if you don't believe me, how else could I have met Botan, the grim reaper?"

Time flew bye. I don't even recall when I finished the ice cream. The only thing that made me wake up from my fantasy realm was the dimming sun in the horizon. I glanced at my watch and flipped; SIX O'CLOCK?! We'd been here for three hours straight! Kuwabara was so going to kill me, I thought, the pit of my stomach brimming with butterflies. But, the butterflies were new, was it really because I was going to get chewed out by Kuwabara?

I mean, I never got anxious about it before.

Did I?

I didn't.

So why was I now?

Unless…

No way.

That couldn't be it.

Could it?

I wasn't…

Right?

Impossible…

But I…

"I have to get going," I said, finishing my thoughts out loud, but, surprising made sense even without the previous thoughts. I then flinched; why did my voice sound so alien? Yusuke smiled warmly as he got up from his seat, almost melting me.

"Hope you enjoyed the ice cream," I returned the smile, without even knowing it.

"I did, and thank you very much. You know, most guys wouldn't go through all this trouble to apologize like this, most have ulterior motives," I said; boy was Yusuke's nervous laughter contagious, I could hardly get a sentence out without a laugh or a giggle. Yusuke's eyes then narrowed, and he shifted his gaze away from my own, and said something in a low murmur.

"Who says I don't?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind, get home safe," he said, turning his back and leaving, the warmth disappearing, it being replaced by a hidden expression. Did I say something wrong, what happened to the warm smile? Why was he acting so cold all of the sudden? I reached forward and tugged on his sleeve and yanked him back and hugged him from behind.

"Whatever burden you're carrying, sometimes it's good to share the load," I blurted, not knowing where this madness derived from. But it felt like the right thing to say.

Maybe I do…

No, I don't.

We're just friends.

He turned around, a crooked smile forming across his lips, his eyes softening—then closing—then opening—and then—

An embrace.

A kind embrace; soft, caring, and more than anything, sad. Like his body was crying tears of joy and yet they were so salty that one could see the sorrow within them. I then had no control over my actions, reason had a horrible knack of leaving the building at the most inconvenient times.

I kissed him; just a mere peck on the cheek, I don't even think he felt it.

We were just friends…

Right?

Needless to say, Kuwabara wasn't particularly fond of me returning at such an hour. It was only seven, I thought I'd done pretty good, racing across town in these shoes. Ignoring his lecture, I flopped down on my bed, my eyes fixated on the spongy white ceiling.

I kissed Yusuke…

On the cheek!

But I kissed him…

On the cheek!

He was so surprised…

You're such a freak!

But he embraced me back!

But you kissed him!

I did…didn't I?

Yes!

What does that mean?

That means you're a fucking idiot.

I am?

Yes!

But I like Kurama!

Clearly not!

Can I like both?

If you're a douche!

But does he like me?

No! He clearly loves Keiko still!

But…Keiko?

She's his childhood friend, makes sense.

He did seem sad when mentioning her.

See?

But that doesn't help me!

Well that's your fucking problem.

But I…

But what, you idiot?!

"I can't take this anymore!" I screamed, pulling the pillow into my hands and banging it against the wall. Nothing worse than a tennis match between yourself; Keiko did leave a nasty aftertaste in my mouth. And who was I to think that Yusuke was being nice to me just because he might like me. Pfft! I'm the real retard! Yusuke was like that to everyone! I mean, it did make sense that way. He was clearly still peeved at Keiko's abandonment, and he does still seem depressed about it, and clearly hasn't moved on! And the worse part about this is, WHY DO I CARE?! I SHOULDN'T CARE!

"I DON'T LIKE YUSUKE!" I hollered, my throat becoming hoarse. I buried my head back into the comfort of the blankets, thankful for their coolness. But it didn't cover the pain, the realization, the jealousy.

While Kurama definitely wasn't out of the picture, but I wasn't so naïve to think that my feelings towards Yusuke were simply that of friends. They weren't. I knew that much. I wasn't so much into denial that my thoughts had been skewed so much. But they were skewed, to a degree.

Pulling over my hoodie, I threw on my sandals and made up some nonsense about going for a walk and be back in an hour.

Yah, right.

I raced down the same trail that Kurama had shown me dozens of times; the winding bends, take a left at the elm, veer off the normal path into a beaten one, take a right at the maple, and then…

I halted, and waiting for the surroundings to fill my body; their life, my life. I could feel the vibrations of the animals surging up through the soles of my feet, and then…

"Hiei?" I called, knowing he couldn't be too far. It wasn't long after that the leaves above me began to rustle, and to my instant relief, I could see Hiei sitting far up on the branch of an ancient oak.

"There you are," I sighed gratefully. Hiei could already sense my trouble, his eyebrow raised in such of suspicion.

"You need something?"

I nodded, "Yah, I really need someone to talk to."

"Kurama can't help?"

"…"

Hiei sighed, "All right, hold up." And in one fluid motion, Hiei jumped down, swooped me up into his arms and within the blink of an eye, I was staring face to face at him on top of the branch that he was previously sitting upon.

"Since your oaf of a cousin probably has no notion that you've ran off this far from home, you better start gabbing soon, save that there's a possibility he might want you back home," he said, his eyes piercing mine. I nodded, and choked back the tears of frustration, and began to rant. Emotions bubbled. It would occur to me later that Hiei was a natural born listener. He wouldn't interject, or even comment when I stopped for a breather, nor would he really ever. He just nodded calmly, soaking the words up into his mind, and just listened. I was forever thankful for that. After closing, I then asked Hiei what he thought, he shrugged, in true guy fashion.

"You have a lot of thinking to do. Your emotions are too scattered, too imbalanced." Precise and to the point, why couldn't I be like that? My eyes inched towards my watch and I twitched. Had I really been here that long? Forty five minutes seemed an awful short time.

I groaned; there was no way in hell I was making it back in fifteen minutes. I was going to be blacker than a roast turkey left in the oven for ten hours by a forgetful newlywed wife. Hiei noticed my uneasiness.

"The time?"

"Yah, I wonder if I can sprint it back in thirty minutes---hey what are you doing?!" I screeched, as I felt Hiei hoist me up onto his back and he tightly gripped my legs.

"I have only one request. Please don't scream."

We were off.

I never realized how fast was fast. Like, there was speed of light fast, 120 mph on the freeway fast, and then there was Hiei fast. Feeling the air become knives tearing your skin, forcing your eyes to cave in and shut as the woods spun around you, your organs welling up and lunging up into your throat…

That was Hiei fast.

7:55, I had five minutes to spare. The only word that escaped my shaken lips was, "damn." Hiei gently let me slid off of his back, and my legs almost gave way on me. I was not doing that anytime soon. Not if I wanted my insides intact, that's for sure.

"Thanks-s," I stuttered, retaining my balance. Hiei laughed.

"It seems you females are even more fragile that your male human counterparts," he scoffed. I smirked.

"Hey, hey, hey. You may be right, but I'll have you know, that us "females" are waay better at blackmailing people, if you know what I mean," I said coolly, hoping to come across confidently, and not fragile. Hiei raised his eyebrows, but his smile still played across his lips.

"See, like I said, you're cute when you smile," I said, secretly enjoying his embarrassed expression that he donned when I said such things. As I waved goodbye, and the black dart disappeared into the descending sun, I was thankful that Hiei was only a brother figure to me. And that I was a friend to him. One more guy and my head was going implode. Upon reaching my bed, I conked out, my shoes still hanging off of my feet.

A few weeks from then…

******************************

"Guys, hey listen up, since neither of you two felt the need to actually pay attention in class, I need help in math, this algebra (II) is kicking my ass and I need to swing by Kurama's. Kuwabara, I swear I'll be back by six or you can take all of my manga or something. Ciao!" Kit said, dashing down the sides of the streets towards Kurama's high school.

Yusuke didn't stop looking until Kit had disappeared from his direct line of vision. His eyes always followed her, he would match his pace to hers, to stay by her, constantly look down to stare into her eyes, you know, little things. But it seemed that someone clearly noticed these actions.

"So she's going by Kurama's?" Yusuke asked, licking his chapped lips in hopes of rehydrating them. Kuwabara nodded.

"Yah, and if she's not there, then she's hanging out with Hiei. I swear, I wonder how she puts up with him!" Kuwabara replied, exasperated. Yusuke's eyes grew the size of golf balls.

"She knows where Hiei lives?!" he said, not quiet believing the words that escaped his lips. It was bad enough she was fraternizing with Kurama, but damn, did she have to be such a nice girl? Kuwabara, was rather sharp today.

"Is that jealousy I detect Urameshi?" he asked slyly. Yusuke blushed and turned away.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, and even if I did, there's no way in hell that I'd tell you anything about it!" Yusuke covered, hoping it would work as a decent cover. It didn't. Kuwabara wasn't that dumb.

"Whatever, dude, it's pretty damn obvious to everyone except Kit that you like her. Man, even Shizuru was talking about how you act like a child crushing on a girl, being mean to her and stuff. Just admit it," Yusuke glued his eyes to the concrete sidewalk; why the hell not.

"Fine," it was just above a whisper.

"What did you say Urameshi?"

"Fine," it was a bit louder.

"I still didn't quite hear ya."

"_Fine_," just a tad louder.

"I still didn't catch that."

"I SAID FINE! I FREAKIN LIKE KIT! YOU FREAKIN HAPPY?!" Yusuke exploded, the hairs on his head standing straight up, a feat that would have made even Hiei envious. "And if you even dare tell her, or anyone else for that matter, I'll rip your head off and shove it up your ass!" Yusuke said is a low growl. Kuwabara cackled; he was clearly enjoying this more than he needed to have.

"I knew it! I just knew it! You act way to much like how you used to with Keiko. Don't worry though, man, she's totally oblivious, I think you might need a neon sign to let her know what you feel. I swear, I think she's secretly blond…but that doesn't mean I give you permission or anything! You better get that part straight!" Kuwabara concluded, quickly remembering that Kit was his kin, and he had duties as her only male cousin. What a freak.

Yusuke though, sighed; her being oblivious was a double edged sword. On the plus side, she hadn't a clue and he could formulate plans according to such without him worrying about her catching on. On the down side, she still liked Kurama and that would lead to problems, especially if she doesn't think that he liked her and only focused on Kurama.

He then lightly touched the side his cheek with the very tips of his fingers. The very place where she had planted a small kiss; his heart leapt at the thought, but then immediately plummeted at the thought of her constantly hanging out with Hiei and Kurama. Did she kiss them like she had kissed him? She had to of; it wasn't like she liked him or anything. It was a friendship kiss, nothing personal. It was noted that Americans were very friendly in that aspect. It was possible that she didn't realize that Japanese typically don't kiss unless they love each other. Yah, that had to be it. He then visualized Kit kissing Kurama and Hiei, and his chest tightened in anger. He knew why he was so upset when at the ice cream parlor she'd said that he couldn't possibly have ulterior motives; did she only see him as a friend? His stunt at the beach had to have shown that he was a man of some sort? He could have very well have taken that kiss and gone with it; thousands of miles with it for that matter. Most guys would have seen that as an invitation, why was she so naïve? Cursing under his breath, he deeply regretted not responding to her kiss, even if it was simply a friendship one. But then again, it wasn't like he was one to talk, he'd forced himself upon her once before, and we all know how that turned out. But then he pictured Kurama and Kit together, hand in hand. He fumed; that was not going to happen, not if he could help it. Just exactly how he was going to do it though, was beyond him.

**************************

Boy was I ever in Kurama's debt. His explanations were flawless; even the crazy theorems seemed as easy as addition after he was down explaining them. Not to mention, if I didn't understand the Japanese, he would translate it for me into English. Damn was he smart.

He then, like the usual routine, offered to walk me home. And who was I to turn him down? I mean, he was just walking me home, right? No harm.

Though Kurama had yet to attempt to kiss me again, so I figured it was some freak accident. But no one other than Hiei (and of course Yusuke, I prayed that he wouldn't go around bragging about it) knew that I had kissed Yusuke. I seriously prayed that Kurama wouldn't find out. The guilt was eating away at me, but I mean, Kurama and I weren't dating, so it wasn't like I broke any rules. But me, Kurama, and Hiei all walked casually down the streets, night and her darkness blanketing the world. Hiei was entertaining me with all sorts of random stories.

"Are you serious? I didn't know Kuwabara was that much of a klutz!" I said laughing. The corner of Hiei's mouth twisted upwards into a splintered grin.

"Of course, he doesn't like me only because the doufus was made a fool of by me." I giggled, it made sense. If Kuwabara's pride was at stake, or hurt, he tended to hold grudges for a decent amount of time. But despite our cheery conversation, the night had completed swallowed the sun, and the streets lurked in shadows, strange auras seeping through the ground and up into the air. I felt a chill run up my spine and the hairs on my hairs stood straight up as goose bumps found their place on my skin. Vibrations came from behind me; strong vibrations.

A sickly man stood not too far, long white strands of what could be called hair hung in his face, the skin looking as though someone had stretched it out too think and then draped it across his bony frame. He then brushed the hair from his face with his slender white hand, and his eyes stared into mine.

This was no human.

It was a demon.

"Toguro," I said, biting my tongue, for fear I would scream. This was the younger brother, the smaller of the two that had the ability to disfigure his body to match the accommodations of his brother. Toguro revealed a crooked set of yellow jagged teeth, and his eyes narrowed down and moved from the three of us.

"You all certainly are funny, thinking you could have killed my brother and me from such a petty attack. Pfft, weaklings, no greater than to lick the shit from my shoes," His voice rang in my ears, cutting deep, rehashing old wounds, reopening forgotten memories. I flinched, and inched away towards Kurama, who stepped in front as a barrier from me and him.

He could tell I was afraid.

"And now to the real business of this little outing, I'm here to personally invite you three to the Dark Tournament that going to be hosted by the Spirit Realm in two months, of course, as a mandatory guest team. So refusing is not an option. You'll be on Urameshi's team, but don't worry about informing him, my brother has already made his entrance at that new construction site. Until then," then the shadows lapped him up, I was unable to make out anything. I shivered, and then a realization hit me.

"Yusuke!"

I bolted; the construction site, and Yusuke! Who knew what the Older Toguro was going to do to Yusuke? I did yell something of a "tell Kuwabara what's going on" while running. If what Toguro had said was true, then Yusuke must be at—

I halted in my tracks, the construction site had been reduced to a pile of rubble. At first, in the darkness, I couldn't see Yusuke. I screamed and jumped down, scraping my knees in the process, flinching at the sting. The air was filled with odor of smoke and debris, it was choking me. My tears were choking me.

Yusuke couldn't be dead, we were the guest team!

He couldn't be dead!

I then saw him, still, I thought he had died for a second there, in the midst of the rubble. He was…physically stationary, so it appeared. He was crouched on his knees, his gaze upon the stars above.

Not moving.

Not blinking.

Maybe not even breathing.

Paralyzed.

I crept in close, fear too, playing its part.

"Yusuke?" I said quietly. But it didn't faze him, he didn't even look at me. But as I got closer, I could see his entire body was convulsing tremendously. I was almost afraid that he wasn't conscious.

"Yusuke, talk to me," I coaxed, placing my hand on his back.

It frightened me, to see him this shaken up.

He was scaring me.

Her murmured something, something I couldn't hear, and then he collapsed on me. Tears poured from his eyes, drenching my shoulder, it was breaking my heart. But, this wasn't Yusuke.

"Yusuke! God damn it, snap out of it!" I said fiercely, pushing him into an upright position, attempting to keep him there, his weight forcing itself onto my feeble arms. "This isn't the Yusuke I know! The Yusuke I know is strong! And if he isn't strong enough, he'll get stronger! If you tell yourself you can't beat Toguro, then you never will!" I was crying now. I wasn't sure if my speech made him wake up, or my tears hitting his face as my hold on him relaxed. Either way, his eyes fluttered and he stared directly at me, our eyes forming into one another's.

"Kit…" he then pulled me back into that warm embrace that taunted me so. His strong arms tight around my waist, pulling me close. It was different than the embrace at the ice cream parlor. Much different; this one was much more tender, like that of a child clutching his mother. I then placed my arms around his neck, and I the usual scent of his hair gel invaded my nostrils, and I never realized before that it had the odor of burnt cinnamon, an odd thing to realize at this point. I then rested my head on his shoulder, his broad shoulder, and whispered softly into his ear.

"It's okay, I have faith that you'll win."


	7. Chapter 7

Woots for chapter 7!! This chapter is basically…to set everything, so if it's a bit lacking….gomen nasai!! *bows* But as I look back at this one, it's funny how many of the conversations I've actually had with people!! Well, hope you enjoy!

**Chapter VII**

"About damn time!" I yelled gleefully, as my voice stirred the birds from their concealed nests, my voice amplifying and echoing in the vast forest of nothingness. Who knew Japan could be so rural? Seventy miles out from the city was a rather large wooded area that was under Natural Protection Rights, so the trees and animals were to be preserved in their natural habitat. Lucky for us, Kurama's mother coincidently happened to know someone who owned the bit of land, and who also coincidently had a cabin there for the summer and winter holidays, who coincidently so generously upon our asking allowed us to stay there for the two months. (Personally, I felt a bit of guilt, for Kurama's mother was under the impression that there wasn't going to be any girls present, and that it was a school funded trip.) But the cabin was on an off beaten trail, which happened to be ten miles long, on foot.

But I honestly enjoyed it; I had lived in the rural world of Alabama from the States for six years, so I learned to love the outdoors and the woods. There was the absence of the pine smell that I had gotten used to, but the cedar and the oaks gave off a fragrance that I couldn't hate either. About two miles into our hike, I had taken off my shoes to feel the soft soil beneath my feet (something I quickly regretted, ten minutes afterwards, I found a sticker had gouged its way into my heel) and I soaked in the atmosphere.

Kuwabara on the other hand, was the inverse.

"Dude, I bet there's cockroaches all in that cabin! So why are we going here again?" he asked, a shudder running up his spine. I shook my head at Kurama as a sign of "don't worry; _**you**_ don't have to say it for the "nth" time".

"One, don't you listen? Two, as stated for the 50th time, we're here to train for the Dark Tournament coming up. And three, you're the biggest guy out here, why the hell are you afraid of a few bugs? I'm a girl and I'm not even scared!" I exclaimed, a laugh escaping forth from my lips.

"Yah, but you don't count," muttered Kuwabara.

"What did you say?!"

"I love you!"

"Yah right…"

Kurama chuckled as Hiei rolled his eyes, and then it was as if an angel shined a holy light over yonder where the cabin lay nestled between two large old oaks, hidden from the direct line of sight.

As Kurama proceeded to unlock the door, a pit in my stomach formed; I knew I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't been for the nagging fact that we had been played. We thought we'd been strong enough to kill Toguro (or rather, we thought Yusuke and Kuwabara were strong enough), and yet, we weren't. We weren't even close. And after seeing Yusuke in that feeble state had left me in a scare too. I know he recovered quickly, but who's to say that he wasn't just faking it, that it all wasn't some large façade? He wasn't even here for me to judge that, off at Genki's; it would be a whole two months before I was going to be able to see him.

I shook these thoughts out as we entered the cabin. It was small, cozy, but small. The inside reeked of a pungent mixture of beer and cigar smoke with a nauseating, overlapping layer of air sanitizer, fresh berries if I wasn't mistaken, to only make matters worse. But all and all it wasn't bad, nothing to complain about, yet. It was equipped with two rooms, each with two twin beds and one bathroom, if our sources were correct. The kitchen could have used some updating as well, the appliances had to have been about ten years old, rust curling at the edges, and the bathroom didn't look as though he had been cleaned in years. I was beginning to rethink my initial impression, for the only thing that really made the place feel cozy, now that you looked at it, and only cozy for someone who enjoyed either hunting or fishing, was the large stuffed animal heads that adorned the paneled walls. Deer, largemouth bass, bears, you name it; they had it. Kurama also mentioned that most of these animals had actually been hunted in the U.S, since most of these animals weren't native to Japan.

I then took the liberty to walk into one of the bedrooms, to check it out, when jumped back and screamed bloody Mary.

The boys all rushed in, only to find me rolling on the floor in hysteria at my own mistake. Right in the doorway was a large, black, stuffed bear that was twice my size and had just scared the bejeezes out of me. Kuwabara wasn't too entertained.

"We thought you'd be like stabbed or something!"

I blew him off. Baby.

I dumped my stuff down on the floor and raced back out before actually taking a look and what was inside, and bolted for the kitchen

"Okay, so how exactly do you guys wanna work bedroom arrangements, and cooking as well as clean-up duties?" I asked, starting to heave the large boxes onto the table and taking out what food we had brought. Kuwabara immediately started to complain about his lack of cooking skills, and Hiei claimed never to have. So that only left me and Kurama to alternate the cooking, and Kuwabara and Hiei would alternate on doing the dishes (suckers!). Kuwabara griped as usual, but quickly ceased after Hiei threatened to tear off his tongue if otherwise. I had dibs for tonight. Because I knew that if I had tomorrow, I was going to be beat, in no shape to cook, and probably bawling my eyes out in pain. I eyed the chicken that I had taken out, and pondered upon what to do with it.

This cabin had brought out the Southern girl in me again, and my mouth watered as I imagined grandma's old fried chicken that she used to make. Glancing in the cabinets for the supplies, to my delight, I found we had all the necessary ingredients. I then shoved all of them out of the kitchen and banned them from entering for the next few hours. Pulling out the rice cooker I started three cups of rice and began to cook.

"Dinner's ready! Hurry and come before I eat it all!" I hollered impatiently, throwing some drinks on the table. I had clearly forgotten the amount of effort it requires to make fried chicken, and after a few hours of straight cooking, I'd become irritable. The grease had popped and cackled, burning my hands, and lord knows I had to have sworn and cursed numerous times, and I almost didn't have enough flour. Hiei was going to have to get some more.

They had better like it.

Or I just might kill them.

Literally.

Kuwabara staggered in, and he sniffed the air, I couldn't anticipate what he was going to say, so I was a bit anxious, since it was Kuwabara, I had reason to be.

"This is…and unique smell…I can't say I recognize it, what exactly is this?" Kuwabara asked, sitting himself down on the table.

Like I was going to serve him.

Who did he think I was?

His mother?

"I'm not your maid, get your own food," I snarled, damn, I was irritable! But I didn't care. I dished out my own food, and Hiei and Kurama both walked in and grabbed a plate and followed in similar fashion.

"So…what is this?" Kuwabara asked quietly. I sighed, I was too mean for my own good.

"I'm sure you won't recognize it, it's my grandma's (from dad's side) recipe for fried chicken. Since you've been forcing me (which, I still enjoy, but on that same note) to eat all this Japanese food, I thought I'd change it up a bit and introduce you guys into some good ol' American treats." And despite my frustration during the actual cooking of it, I was certain I had outdone myself.

"What?! You're seriously going to make us eat this weird stuff?" Kuwabara exclaimed, poking the food with the tip of his fork, as if he was afraid of it. My hands flew to my hips and my brows furrowed in anger.

"Damn right I am! I just spent three hours cooking this! This least you can do is try it, because so God help me I'm not making anything else!!" I argued, my fist twitching at my side. Kuwabara then spat something back at me and we were off. During this time, I believe Kurama and Hiei actually started to eat, I for one, didn't notice, until Kurama interrupted us.

"And I swear Kuwabara-"

"This is actually pretty good," whizzing around, I saw Hiei and Kurama both almost completely done with their food. Whether it was out of politeness, or sincerity, I really didn't care. Small sparkles manifested within my eyes and I look ready to appear in a shojo manga.

"Really?! You really like it?" I asked, my hands clasped together; both nodded.

"Yes, while it's certainly…different, it's still has a good flavor, and each dish compliments each other," Hiei said, while plopping the last potato in his mouth. Knowing that any compliment from Hiei was a real compliment, I felt satisfied immediately and began to dish myself out some food.

"Indeed, you should try other recipes while we're here as well, it'll a nice experience," Kurama added, now he too finished. Kuwabara still didn't look quite convinced, knowing that Kurama and Hiei were my friends, and gathering they that very well may have lied (though personally, I think if something was bad, Hiei would have been the first to tell me, we weren't shy about stuff like that) out of politeness. Taking his knife and fork and cutting off a piece in a barbaric fashion (they weren't quite used to knives in forks, and to my delight, it was always entertaining to watch Kuwabara attempt), he still stared curiously at the meat once more before placing it within his mouth. I tried to judge his expressions before he said anything, to prepare myself.

It started with a bit of surprise, and then of curiosity, then more of a perplexed one as the lump of food traveled down his throat. I stared intently, and he glanced back up at me, and before he could say anything, Hiei found space to interject.

"And don't you insult her like the idiot you are before I take my blade and we'll make dinner out of you for a few weeks."

O, wow, two blows in one, Hiei's getting better as the days pass! Kuwabara passed a glare Hiei's way, before speaking, and then looked up at me.

"I was about to say, before _some _little runt butted in, that this actually ain't half bad," he admitted, helping himself to more. Good; now I could eat in peace. Sitting down, I proceeded to eat and jokes were passed along from each one of us. In a strange, peculiar way, sitting down on this small round table, it reminded me of a family, a family I never had until coming here. I could see Kurama, as the mother and father combined, his tenderness and forcefulness apparent. I, as the middle daughter, whose emotions always seemed to get the better of me. Kuwabara as the eldest son who constantly felt superior and had a bad knack of saying things at the wrong time, while always being rather stupid, and Hiei as the youngest, whose sharp tongue could cut even steel, while him and Kuwabara argued. It was pleasant, and slightly relaxing at the same time.

After dinner, we decided on room arrangements, which were harder than I had originally thought it was going to be; Kuwabara was being difficult as usual, and refused to sleep in the same room as Hiei, plus, he refused in sleeping in the same room as myself, because the idiot was embarrassed about sleeping in the same room as any girl, despite the fact that I was his cousin. That being said, I was actually relieved at that comment. I knew first had from living with him, and that Kuwabara's snoring was unbearable, and that was being in the next room! Let alone being in the same room as him. But this left me and Hiei to a room, and Kurama and Kuwabara to the other (poor Kurama!). But while we were under the impression that there were two beds in each room, we came to a rather unpleasant surprise. What they meant by two beds was really one cot, with an old fashioned pull out bed at the bottom, tucked underneath. Being courteous, I offered to take the bottom half of the bed. Hiei shook his head definitely.

"You're funny. You're sleeping on the top bed, besides, I'm used to sleeping on branches and the ground, like this is really going to be any difference. In fact, it'll probably be better. No buts," he added firmly. I sighed; men were always so stubborn! Grabbing my bag of clothes, I darted into the bathroom to change. Stripping my clothes from back, I quickly jumped into the shower, which I found only came in one temperature.

Cold.

But that wasn't the problem, since I always took cold showers, but it was the fact that it didn't want to give out a continuous stream of water, instead, it spurted water defiantly right into your face as if taunting you. Needless to say, my shower was quite short, and afterwards, I donned my grey and pink plaid shorts and threw over my spaghetti strap black shirt. Walking out, I found that my sleeping attire wasn't too far off from everyone else's.

Kuwabara was wearing his boxers and a large t-shirt that swamped even his large body, Kurama in more of a traditional wear, with simply a white shirt with some pajama pants, and Hiei, the most radical of all, was topless and just wore his usual black pants. But Kuwabara then eyeballed me. What, was it, "let's nag on Kit day"?

"What are you wearing?" he asked. God this was de ja vu, couldn't he let up for even a minute?

"The usual, like you would know, since I kind of LIVE WITH YOU! And just for the record, this is all I brought, and I refuse to wear your boxers," I said, though the very sentence sent giggles up my spine. That didn't help my case.

"Okay, I'll give you that, but you're not at home!"

"O heaven forbid! I'm with Kurama and Hiei! Please don't rape me guys!"

"T-That is not the kind of speech a girl should have!"

"You're the one that started this! It's not like my ass is hanging out or anything!"

"But your boobs are!"

"They are not!"

"Are too!"

"So you're looking?!"

Ha, silent.

Kuwabara-0 Kit-1

Boo-yah! But before the second bout could initiate, Kurama looked up from his book and tactfully began to speak.

"We should probably go to bed if we want to get up early tomorrow morning," he said, stopping our argument, though he too looked as though he wanted to laugh. Were we really that funny? Though we all nodded in unison and I proceed to jump onto my bed as I flicked off the lights. As I nestled myself in between the blankets, I noticed Hiei was still sitting upright against on the bed, his back against the wall.

"You're not going to sleep?" I asked, rolling over so my eyes could reach his. Hiei shrugged as he patted my head.

"I'll fall asleep when I fall asleep, I can't make myself go to bed, but you on the other hand are fragile and need your sleep," he replied. I smiled and nodded as I rolled over, and it didn't seem like seconds had gone by before sleep had consumed me.

************************

Hiei's gaze was fixed on the sleeping Kit, whose light breathing and swelling of her body in relaxation had him green with envy. No worries what so ever, boy did he want that. Stroking a piece of her hair that had fallen over the side, he wondered if she'd straightened out her "boy" issue that she seemed to have sparked so much controversy. He laughed bitterly to himself; she was a wonder, he'd give her that. He was glad the emotions sent from her to him were relevant to that of a sibling, for while love was simply an emotion he felt he didn't have, he couldn't blame anyone for loving her. Mad, happy, energetic, completely oblivious, sad, all these emotions were jumbled inside of her, and she had no problem of releasing them upon the world. He wondered if his attachment to her simply derived from the facts that he'd missed his chance out on being a brother with Yukina, and the fact that she was the only girl that he'd ever really come into contact with. She was so peaceful, he thought, as his hand moved to her head, gently stroking it. He began to wonder if all women looked this way in their sleep. Taking back his hand, he sighed and began to lean back against the wall like always. He was content to be her brother.

"She sleeping okay?" Hiei turned to the doorway to see Kurama. Hiei nodded.

"She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow," he confirmed. Kurama, though hesitant, walked in and sat next to Hiei on the bed, though his attention was completely on Kit.

It was then that Hiei noticed it.

"You actually really like her, don't you?" he asked him. Kurama remained silent, his eyes daring not to look up. It was in that instant that Hiei knew he was right.

He knew that Kurama's politeness was just a façade to fool humans, a guise if you will to make sure that no one suspected him of the demon that lurked beneath his human mask. But this, this was different. It wasn't like Kurama to walk girls home, be at his disposal for help or assistance, or anything of the activities Kurama did with Kit. But Kurama was just so damn conscientious, he always downed himself, despite the fact that it was clear that Kit had at one time, and apparently still does, like him. So why was he so hesitant? That's what Hiei couldn't understand.

"Look, you don't have to talk, but I do need to sleep somewhere," Hiei whispered with a smirk. Kurama did a half-hearted smile and got up from the bed.

"It seems you have me pegged, Hiei…but what about you? What are your motives?" he asked, as if trying to reassure himself that he wasn't the only one. Hiei simply shrugged; his usual response.

"She's the sister I couldn't have."

************************

The next morning at 4 am

"Whaaaaaat? Now?" I groaned, throwing the covers over my head and burying my face into my warm pillow. I realized we were getting up early, what I didn't realize was early meant 4 am! Early for me equaled I don't know, six, seven? The sun wasn't even up to greet us for Christ's sake! Hiei then proceeded to poking me with butt of his sword.

"Now, you lazy woman! Don't tell me all you humans are this lazy!" I shot a fierce glare in his direction, which had no effect what so eve for he simply returned it back in tenfold. Inching back, I reluctantly rolled out of my bed, feeling my back creak and pop from the stone mattress and shooed Hiei out so I could change. Knowing that I was going to be hot and sweaty, I brought some of my old tattered jeans from ages ago, and I pulled on my tank top and dragged myself outside.

The stars were still shining.

The moon was even smiling mockingly at us.

How gay is that?

Apparently Kuwabara and I were in sync for once; he was dead on his feet, I think I could see drool dripping from the corners of his mouth, and a random snore every once in a while. This didn't last long though, for every time it looked as though he was dozing off, Hiei would ram the butt of his sword into his side. Kurama, on the other hand, was as peppy as ever, how at 4 am in the morning was beyond me. After a few minutes, we determined it would be most beneficial if Hiei started off training me, and then at about noon I was to go with Kurama to test out what I'd learned. Afterwards we would get some form of lunch, go on a death march of five miles, and then some strengthening exercises. I could feel my legs giving way already, I thought grimly, grinding the back of my teeth.

I then followed Hiei to a clearing not too far from there, apparently Hiei and Kurama had been up for two hours in preparation. Weirdoes, I thought as I stretched my arms.

"Now, since this is a training exercise, you won't have to worry about getting hurt, but you'll be a bit fatigued since you'll be using your chi often. Also, we don't actually expect you do much fighting in the Dark Tournament if we can help it. This is more of defense training. Your spirit knives will be used as distance weapons, so this first exercise will focus on helping your aim," he explained. I was a bit confused, though relieved at the same time when he mentioned that I more than likely wasn't going to be doing any actual fighting. After my experience with Toguro, I wasn't too confident in my fighting abilities. Then Hiei motioned towards a tree and from it hung a life sized dummy that was marked up. Small targets were placed between the eyes, on the throat, by the heart, and by the crotch, which in turn made me laugh. Hiei also added that since my knives weren't the most powerful thing out there, that I needed to learn to become extremely precise with them, aiming only to kill, and for the vital points. Easier said than done! Lord knows for the first ten minutes I couldn't even hit the dummy, and it took numerous amounts of knives just so I could hit even close to one of the targets! Needless to say, it was going to be a long day.

After about five hours, I had gotten successful at hitting the target where I was supposed to hit it. I was wiped out! Lord knows I felt as if I couldn't move at all!! My legs felt as if one hundred pound weights had been attached to them, and my arms had been filled with lead. To my dismay, Hiei wasn't done yet.

"Tired already? We're just getting started."

I groaned; I never realized how much of a slave driver Hiei was. I could then see Hiei close his eyes and then to my utter amazement, the dummy reached up and untied itself from the branch, hovering before my very eyes. Hiei could do that?

"Now let's see how you fair against a moving target, since you can't expect our opponents to just let you throw things at them," he said, his eyes still closed and focused. The dummy then began to dance around me at an amazing speed, nowhere close to Hiei, but still pretty damn fast. I focused my chi into my hand, it had become harder to do at this point, but still I was able to conjure up three of them. I then remembered Hiei mentioning something about how people and things always move in a pattern, that it was just nature. Following the dummy with my eyes, after about five minutes of observing, I could see that Hiei was deliberately doing so. The dummy took five steps to the left, four to the right, jumped back, three steps to the right, jumped forward, and repeated the process. I realized that it then took the dummy a half of a second longer when it jumped back because it had to get its footing down. So at that moment I threw one of the knives towards the heart, it exploding a little to the right. Damn it! I thought, my energy being drained from my body. The dummy slowed down and Hiei opened his eyes.

"Not bad, a little long in figuring it out, but definitely not bad for someone who's not used to a fighting environment. I'm going to change up the patterns a bit, and let's see how you do until Kurama comes and gets you," he said, once again closing his eyes to manipulate the dummy.

Hours went by, or so it seemed. But by the time Kurama had arrived I was no more than a mere puddle of jiggly human flesh. Kurama laughed warmly, and waited for a few moments to allow me to recover. I flushed; I could feel the sweat perspiring all over my body, dripping in between creases of my skin. I felt utterly disgusting, the humidity was getting to me. Kurama though, didn't seem to mind, and I quickly pulled up my hair into a loose bun as Kurama explained what we were going to do.

"This is a basic hand to hand combat training, just in case you get into close quarters. This is to improve your reflexes and speed," he said as he took off his jacket, laying it on the grass. His teaching style was dramatically different than Hiei's. Whereas Hiei let me experiment on my own, Kurama came behind me, guiding my body to the right stance to begin with, and then guiding my arms and legs to the correct movements of the basic punch, kick, jab and so on and so forth, so I could maximize my power. Though while I knew this was simply him teaching, I couldn't help but blush and feel embarrassed. I then also falsely figured that Kurama was going to go easy on me during the skirmish. Wrong. He overpowered me easily, also creating other awkward situations for myself that possibly could have been another reason for my lack of ability. But who knows.

The rest of the day dragged on like the morning, Lord knows that I felt as if I was going to keel over during the run, and the strengthening exercises made my arms feel as if they'd been ripped off from my arm sockets. I was thankful for my previous decision to cook first, for I was in no mode to even eat, let alone cook. I don't even remember what occurred, or even what I ate that night, all I know is that rock hard mattress never felt so good.


	8. MINI CLIMAX!

AND A MINI CLIMAX!! DUN DUUN DUUUUUUN! Lol must warn you though, this chapter has more language than the rest, so if you get offended easily than you may not way to read it (but that's it ^^)

**Chapter VIII**

"Get up you lazy bum!"

Groaning, I fell onto the floor and hit my head against the wood post. A month and two weeks had past, and I had gotten pretty damn accurate in my aim, my speed was now up to par, instead of four knives in each hand, I could conjure five, I also learned how to battle with real daggers, could do a back flip, but yet I still had yet to master the ability of waking up at 4 am in the morning! Hiei motioned for me to hurry up as he routinely left the room for me to change. But, for once I was actually a bit pumped today, since this morning Kuwabara and I were going to test out what we have learned in a skirmish against each other! Let's see who's weak now! I thought happily. Though I wasn't allowed to use my spirit knives for fear of really injuring Kuwabara, so it was basically hand to hand, with a mixture of my daggers and his spirit sword on occasion. Just no fatal shots. Yesterday Kuwabara boasted about how he was going to cream me since he'd had more experience (which I'd give him) and that since he had a clear height advantage there was no question in who was going to win. I then pointed out immediately afterwards that Hiei could beat him in a matter seconds and he was half of Kuwabara's size (literally). Kuwabara was surprisingly quiet afterwards.

As I left the cabin, I could see the clouds coating the sky, making it even darker than usual. Though I felt comfortable, since Hiei had shown me numerous times how to fight by sensing someone else, not by seeing them. He basically beat it into me that your eyes were your enemies and you couldn't trust them. The smell of dew lingered in the air, and it was a lot cooler than previously expected. Shivering, I pulled over a jacket that I had brought out, just in case. Kuwabara flashed a cocky grin as I stuck my tongue out in a reply. I knew that if I had anything over Kuwabara, it was speed; so I had to just confuse him a bit if I had any hopes of winning.

"And begin!"

I needn't be told twice. Darting in the security of the darkness, I hid amongst the branches of the trees. Kuwabara laughed mockingly.

"Hiding already Kit? Come on, I thought you were better than that?" he teased, hoping to draw me out. I knew better though. Kuwabara no matter what could beat me in strength, and if it came down to a hand to hand fight, I was surely going to lose. I knew that much. Feeling for the daggers, I gripped their handles and silently thanked Hiei as I leaped from the shadows and behind Kuwabara. He turned, as if he'd heard me, but it was too late. I had already made my mark. Giving a quick slash across the back, I could see his shirt tear in two and thin red line across his skin, I was successful in a non-fatal attempt, I was supposed to win, not kill him. Kuwabara was caught off guard, and as he wobbled back, I ducked down and swoop kicked his ankle, just enough to ruin his balance. Kuwabara hit the cold ground hard, dirt covering his face, hiding his scowl. I chuckled.

"Seems you underestimated me! That'll teach you!" I said, using one of my daggers as a baton to point. The daggers were really just small short swords, honed sharp and deadly, they were light weight and fairly easy to use. Hiei had done an excellent job in instructing on their capabilities as well as useful techniques. I could hear Kuwabara growl, and a large orange aura manifesting in the palm of his hand. His spirit sword. A bit sooner than I had expected, I didn't realize that I had pissed him off that bad. He then became like a charging bull, in full force, swinging madly at me. Or so I thought, his seemingly aimless swings actually had some point to them, for small trees fell beside me, causing me to trip over them on various occasions, slowing me down. Jumping back, he then swung hard, and while the actual attack did not reach me, I could feel the shock wave in the pit of my stomach, hurling me back against the trunk of a tree, almost shattering it as well as my back. My fault for not dodging, but my mind then imagined what would have happened if that had been a direct hit. I could see Kuwabara curse under his breath, as he charged again, this time though, I retreated into the limbs of the trees. I attempted to do what I had done previously, flipping behind him, I sent a kick into his side as I descended, what I didn't bank on was Kuwabara knowing exactly what I was going to do, so as he fell, he swung down on his sword, striking me in the calf. I let out a small groan of pain; it was as if lightening had shot up my spine and was throbbing on the inside of my leg.

But the fight didn't last too much longer, soon after bruises had adorned myself as well as Kuwabara's body and face, Kurama called it over. No one really won, but both me and Kuwabara argued over who would've won in the long run. Hiei claimed his money was on me, which made me happy (he also noted that if it had been a real match, I probably would have won from the get-go, since I couldn't use fatal shots in the skirmish), while Kurama remained silent. And to celebrate our actually surviving this long, Kurama and Hiei gave us the day off. Only one more week of this hellish training and we were going to meet up with Yusuke and head off to the Tournament so they could kill Toguro once and for all. Since I had tortured Kuwabara long enough with my American dishes, I decided for his sake to simply make some tempura and rice, hoping to ease some of the tension between us. But I had to throw in some apple pie, just to make sure they tried it.

But I wasn't satisfied. Since during the weeks of training, I hadn't really had much time to think at all, now that I had that time, my mind drifted towards Yusuke. I wondered what he was doing, if he was okay, if he was eating okay, what this "Genki" was like, stuff like that. As everyone else was eating, my head in my hand, I remained silent upon pondering. My mind then did a quick flashback to the last time I had seen him, his fragile being so scared and weak, so unlike the Yusuke I had grown to know. It was so…weird, for that was the only word that I could think to describe it.

"Kit?"

I didn't hear a thing.

"Kit?"

"KIT!" My head jerked upon hearing my name.

"Hm?" Kuwabara sighed.

"Man you're thick, have you even heard a word of what I've been saying for the past five minutes?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"Sorry, no," I answered bluntly. Kuwabara raised his eyebrows in suspicion, and placed his hand to my brow.

"Something wrong? You don't have a fever…" I brushed his hand away.

"No, I'm good…but I think I'll take a walk."

"At night?" Kuwabara questioned.

"Yah, don't worry, I'll be back soon," I said, pushing my chair in and stepping out into the cool night. The during this past month, the leaves had turned from their soft green to vibrant shades of orange and red, and the fall breeze proved quite relaxing. Heading towards the cliff, I then stared out into the vast forest that stretched from horizon to horizon. Lying back against the soft grass, I turned my gaze to the night sky.

She was cloudless, her stars glimmering brightly against her frothy black blanket and a crescent moon hanging down. I wondered if heaven had such a gorgeous view; I smiled, it probably did. I then placed my hands in the back of my head and closed my eyes, soaking in everything. It was as if the grass was warming my back and the air kissing my lips. The bushes behind me then began to rustle and I could hear twigs snapping and cracking. Normally I would've jumped up, and been on guard, but I felt that was pointless since I already knew who it was.

"Hi Kurama," I said, smiling. Kurama emerged from the bushes, he too, smiling. During our intense training, I also found certain familiarities among everybody. Their walking patterns, was one of them. Kurama had a very light walk, as if he always walked on the balls of his feet, this method was beneficial on concrete and grass, but created a lot of noise when walking across twigs. Hiei's was like a cat walk: light and quick. I've yet to hear any real form of noise except when he ran and then was only for a fraction of a second when his feet touched the ground. Kuwabara's on the other hand, was loud, goofy, nothing stealthy about it. His heavy set feet could be heard miles away.

Kurama, without invitation, came and sat next to me. I sighed; this meant he wanted to talk. And don't get me wrong, I love to talk, especially to Kurama. But lately with my mixed emotions and discomforts, I found myself retreating back into the forest for some alone time. I think I'd finally understood why Hiei enjoyed solitude, or rather, not enjoyed, but needed solitude every now and then. Kuwabara though, wasn't quite so understanding, I think he was more worried about me than he would really like to let on, but this also meant that he started to pry more than usual. Sitting up, I realized Kurama was a lot closer than I had originally thought. So close than I hit my head against his as I came up.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, as Kurama reached for his brow. "Are you okay?" Kurama wasn't looking at me, was he mad? It was then that Kurama broke into an uncontrollable laughter, a laugh foreign for Kurama. Were those tears rolling down his face?

"Well, it seems you're a bit more uneasy than we all thought," Kurama said, after he contained his laughter. I was puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can't see you doing something as clumsy as that on a normal basis," he said, still smiling. I blushed, thankful that the darkness consumed its scarlet tint, though he was right, I wasn't normally this absent minded. Glancing back over to Kurama, I could see the moonlight playing in his eyes. The once fiery gems now looked like liquid jade swirling around his pupils, retreating behind the strands of silk for hair.

"Kuwabara…" I jumped, brought out of my own thoughts as Kurama's voice broke into the air, "Kuwabara sent me you to check on you; he says you've been acting funny. I have to say that I agree," Kurama joked tenderly, poking me in the forehead. I fiddled with my hands, my nervous habit.

"I don't think I've been acting funny," I said in a timid laugh. Silence then crept over us. I didn't like it. It wasn't the peaceful silence like before, now it was uneasy. Like a dark cloud in the midst of white.

"Kit?"

"Yes?" I answered too quickly for my own good, what the hell was I so damn nervous about? It was just Kurama.

"Someone's jumpy," Kurama teased. And then, he did the most curious thing. He took a lock of my hair, and pulled it to his face. His eyes gazed deep into my own, as if they were analyzing my entire being. My heartbeat was speeding up, my chest tightened and my throat closed in. He stroked the lock, then released it and let it fall at my side. At a futile attempt to start a conversation I began to speak.

"You're hair is much prettier," I said, my speech mumbled. It was Kurama's turn to look confused.

"Excuse me?" I flushed, had I just imagined the entire thing?

"I mean, you just took my hair, and well, I mean, I just think yours is prettier, in comparison to mine," I forced my eyes shut; this was so embarrassing! How could I be so stupid? And then, I heard a soft chuckle being carried in the wind. Opening one eye, I could see Kurama still staring intently at me; watching me.

"Umm!!" I turned away, it was so piercing! It was then I felt his soft hand to my chin and it guided my face towards his own. We were inches away from each other.

"No need to be nervous," he said, quietly. Had I hurt him?

"I-I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry I'm just—" I almost flinched as Kurama then released my chin then rested his head on my shoulder. I could feel his warm arm slip around my waist and his faint breathing hot against my bare neck, his silk hair caressing my face.

"Kurama?!" I was surprised, shocked even. What had come over Kurama? My heart was going into a frenzy, my mind was doing loop de loops, and my legs had gone numb. I could feel his arms tighten, my body close to his own. I then regretted wearing shorts and a tank top, for it seemed so bare against his own (I knew somewhere at that moment Kuwabara was probably feeling a sense of victory for a reason unknown). Kurama lifted his head, and once again, stared unwavering into my eyes. My own eyes quivered, I was not used to this. My arms were limp at my side, I didn't know what to do or say.

"I beg to disagree," he said, leaning in closer, softly whispering against my ear. My heart heaved upwards. He…he was talking about my hair, right?

"Kit…Kit, I…" he trailed off, but he was still whispering in my ear, which was driving my body crazy. We were close, closer than I had willingly ever let any guy come. Not that I felt as if I could have pulled away, even if I had wanted to, Kurama clearly had a grip on the situation. But, I wasn't so sure this was necessarily a bad thing.

"I've fallen for you, I want you, to be mine."

Did he just…

He did…

Right?

I was dumbstruck, utterly, and profoundly dumbstruck. My heart rate was off the charts, and I was certain that I should be going into cardiac arrest at any time. I almost immediately wanted to blurt out yes, part of my mind screaming "hell yes!", but another, and rather annoying part of my brain merely asked "but what about Yusuke?" I didn't know what to do. I had no idea if Yusuke had feelings for me or not, and I knew that had feelings for Kurama…

But I felt uneasy. I didn't like having feelings for two guys; it felt like betrayal, like I would be backstabbing Kurama if I said yes because a part of me still liked Yusuke. And I couldn't do that, not to Kurama.

"Kurama…I…" But I couldn't say no. My mind refused me that luxury. My tongue and lips refused to take part in such action. Kurama noticed my hesitance, and he withdrew, I didn't want him to, I almost took him back.

"It seems…I asked rather suddenly, didn't I?" he said, giving a half hearted laugh. I'd hurt him, I know I did, and it was tearing my heart into pieces. He then lightly kissed my forehead, tender and gentle, like always. "You can answer, whenever you feel you're ready. Tonight, tomorrow, even in a month, I'll wait," he said, getting up and brushing the grass from his pants and headed towards the cabin. When I he was out of sight, I pulled my legs close to my chest, and I cried. I didn't know why, it wasn't as if I had just put my heart on the line and gotten it pushed away.

"GOD DAMN IT YUSUKE!" I screamed, my throat hoarse and tight from the tears. He ruined it, he really ruined it. That fucking pervert ruined it! I kept sobbing uncontrollably, I didn't even noticed that Hiei was standing behind me.

"Hiei…" he crouched down.

"Kurama came in storming, what happened?" he said, as if he already knew what had occurred. I choked on my tears for a second and forced them down. I began to babble; about how I couldn't get Yusuke out of my mind, and how Kurama just confessed, and I wanted to say yes, but I couldn't. All those messy detailed bubbled forth from my quivering lips. I just couldn't answer Kurama until I'd seen Yusuke, call me crazy, but I needed conformation. It also stung to hear that Kurama came in "storming"; it seems I fucked up big time. Hiei placed a reassuring hand on my head.

"So you still haven't worked out your emotions…huh? Well," he stood up and stretched, "I agree that you should wait until you're certain on who you like. You owe yourself and whoever you'll eventually date that much. Don't worry, Kurama, he'll wait," he said after I had finished. I nodded, but I could feel myself nodding in out and of sleep. It had to be about eleven o'clock. Hiei sighed and picked me up, and I was asleep before I even reached my bed.

************************

Hiei picked up a book lying on the end table and started reading where he'd left off. It was rather corny, and he was almost certain that he knew how it was going to end. Most murder mysteries were obvious that way, but to his surprise, he found that he couldn't put the book down, despite that. Hearing a slight creak on the floorboard, he placed the book down and smiled.

"Don't worry, she's asleep," he said, watching Kurama tread quietly in. At the very least he'd calmed down, never before had Hiei seen Kurama so upset. He almost tore Kuwabara's head right off (to Hiei's dismay, he did not). But now, now Kurama's eyes were dull and his body, though still upright, seemed slightly slouched in a sulking way. Kurama, really was in love, Kit wasn't exaggerating when she had claimed that Kurama said that he wanted her. But he didn't sit, just stood, as if he didn't want to get comfortable, as if he didn't deserve that much.

"She likes, she likes someone else, doesn't she?" he inquired softly, taking her hair once more in his palm, caressing it. Hiei did a half nod. He then saw Kurama withdraw his hand, and he then collapsed on the floor and buried his head into his hands. He wasn't crying, but he appeared as though he wanted to.

"It's not…it's kind of that way, but not at the same time," Hiei said, trying to reassure Kurama that all was not lost. Kurama perked his head up slightly, his eyes peering over his knees. "She…she just doesn't know how she feels and doesn't want to give you the wrong answer. She wants to make sure that she really loves you before she commits to anything. Don't worry, she'll answer soon," he continued, hoping to pick Kurama up from that pitiful state he was in. He could deal with Kit being a fragile baby, but seeing Kurama this distraught was too much for him. Hiei was beginning to wonder if it was really worth being in love if all these emotions followed you wherever you went.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX**

The rest of the week flew by: I can't even recall exactly what occurred during those days. Not mention the awkwardness between Kurama and myself, I had yet to bring myself to make eye contact or even speak with if unless necessary, which wasn't fair to him, but I couldn't help it. He in return though, acted as though nothing had happened, and didn't pester me for an answer nor hold any form of grudge against me. He was his usual polite, kind, caring, wonderful self, and I was totally grateful for that.

We had to travel a few miles out from where we were to go to the port where the ferry was docked. This "ferry" was supposed to take us to "Hanging Neck Island" where the tournament was going to take place. And good Lord, if this was what the port looked like, I really hated to see what the island was going to be like. Fog had seeped into the ground and haze intertwined between the dead limbs of the trees. The stench that lingered was unbearable, it was as if though something was perpetually rotting, and I spat multiple times, holding my jacket to my face in hopes of getting rid of the smell. Not to mention, the place was horded with demons, something I still wasn't quite used to seeing. There were never two alike, but the aura they gave off was the same; wicked, horrid, and most of all, one that that is unexplainable in words themselves, but something of an unnatural feel to them. It was curious why I never felt this way around Hiei, who was also in demon skin, but these guys put off such an aura that I almost gagged on them as well.

I was also quite subconscious about my attire as well; donning one of Hiei's old tank tops and a pair of loose cut up jeans, I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place; I was wearing my jean jacket over it, but I had since taken it off to help as previously stated, to cover the stench. I reached down for the two daggers resting in their sheaths; knowing they were right there made all the difference in the world.

It was then that a small pirate with a peg leg and an eye patch to boot came hobbling forward, a pipe lodged in between his yellow teeth, contributing to the pungent stench.

"Alrighty ye, it's a time we get a' sailin'," he said, his voice screeching like nails on a chalkboard, sending a shiver through my spine, my ears begging for mercy. But, this certainly wasn't good; Yusuke had yet to arrive.

"Wait sir, one of our teammates still hasn't come yet!" I said, speaking up. And that teammate happens to be our captain! I thought furiously, where the hell could he be right now? He better not have ditched us or I swear to God…

The pirate didn't change his expression, clicking the wood against his teeth, he bit down and stopped his good leg.

"Then we'll send out a' hit man, that'll teach ye to be traitorous! The swine!" he replied. I was about to go into a furry of protests when the trees behind us stirred up in commotion. I turned around and smiled.

About freaking time.

"Now, now, that's not quite necessary! I'm here, see? No need to get all violent! Hey guys, Kit, sorry I'm late!" Yusuke said, flashing his usual smile. Behind him lurked a small masked fighter, but since my attention span isn't the greatest, I quickly forgot about the little fighter and went back to Yusuke. I had the strangest notion to want to throw my arms around his neck and squeeze him tightly; in the two months that I'd gone without seeing him, I really had been miserable. But, with Kurama standing so near, I decided against it, figuring I'd better get more control over my emotions. Returning his grin, I then attempted to show a mad front.

"Yusuke, you're late!" I said in a half way pout, probably sounding more cute than angry. He laughed, a laugh that I had dearly missed.

"Still feisty as always huh Kit?" he said teasingly, giving me a slight push. I blushed a deep red, but in that moment, I realized something different.

"Yusuke, you're hair! It isn't slicked back!" I observed, not really believing what I was seeing. Taking a step back, I decided to get a better look. Boy did a hairstyle make or break somebody. Instead of looking like a greased up punk, his hair hung loosely in small strands, some above his forehead, the rest framing his face. It softened his look, he looked more like a real fifteen year old, rather than some cold gangster. I preferred it this way; I then fluffed my own hair, feeling rather self conscious about it. Yusuke shrugged as he fiddled with a strand.

"Yah, I didn't have time to gel is before I came, looks weird huh? O, hey Hiei," Yusuke blinked as Hiei stepped forward. They penetrated each other's eyes for a few moments before engaging in a quick bout. My eyes darted to and fro, attempting to keep up with their movements. Both had gotten dangerously fast; my eyes had dried up in their futile try to not blink, and they stung with tears.

"Damn you two are fast!" I exclaimed, completely impressed.

"Almost adequate," commented Hiei, who proceeded to sheath his sword.

"Now ye all stop all that ruckus fo' I leave all you swine on here' shore and get a moving on this damn boat!" bellowed the pirate, who shooed us quickly onto his ferry, and we were off.

**********************

*Note: In the original anime and manga, Yusuke immediately falls asleep on the boat, BUT since Yusuke hasn't really played a part in the two previous chapters, he's awake until they reach the hotel for the sake of monologue.*

Leaning back on the rails of the boat, Yusuke could help but stare in Kit's direction, who seemingly was avoiding everyone save Kuwabara. Not that he really minded, he was simply ecstatic to see her. Time sure did wonders to the brain, and she looked even lovelier than he remembered. Though he wasn't too keen on her wearing black; it wasn't flattering, or rather, it didn't do justice to her body (and if he wasn't mistaken was that Hiei's shirt?). A tinge of guilt resided in his stomach, for the moment that she had reached his gaze, he'd wanted to embrace her. Kiss her, hold her; such dangerous thoughts before a tournament where their life was at stake. He then began to wonder if something had happened to Kit in his absence, she really was quiet! Not a word spoken since they'd come aboard the ship. Brushing it off, hoping it was just him being paranoid, he continued to look on the murky waters of the sea.

The boat ride was far from nostalgic though, it bow dully cut through the waters and it bubbled up and down, making Yusuke feel slightly nauseous. One could also hear faint music playing in the background, only it wasn't what one would really call music. It seemed like something that could be fit in an Edgar Allen Poe story, or even a horror flick, like the sound of impending doom. Real cheerful. Trying to distract himself from the uneasiness that was settling in his stomach, Yusuke turned his attention to Kuwabara, who was making an idiot of himself, as usual.

"You know, I think I might just be even stronger than Urameshi!"

Yusuke almost choked.

"Yah, right loser, you keep on dreaming, cause Lord knows that's the only time you'll beat me," scoffed Yusuke, standing up. A blood vessel then popped from Kuwabara's forehead.

"Listen Urameshi, you don't know what kind of hell Hiei and Kurama put us through! Getting up at 4, doing all kinds of crazy exercises!" Kuwabara shouted, though a bit too loud for Kit, as Yusuke noticed. She flinched at the noise and then irately glared at Kuwabara, then slumped back down against the floorboards.

"That doesn't mean we could beat him, or that we could come even close to beating him. Let's just be happy that we _improved _these past few months," she stated, yawning, though appearing to be oppressing down her own nausea. Yusuke then that bags had made their home underneath Kit's eyes, how well had she been sleeping?

Following her example, he walked over and sat next to Kit, hoping to close the gap of two months that was separating them.

"So, you guys learn anything (useful)?" he asked, joking though at the end. Kit smiled and gave him a soft shove. Atta girl.

"You wouldn't believe it. Personally, I still don't think I'll be much help, if any, since practice matches and real matches are two different things, but I did learn a lot. Hiei taught me how the make the most of my spirit weapons, Kurama taught me the basics of hand to hand, and I learned how to wield normal weapons as well. And Lord knows it was tiring, if that was the training that I received, I really hate to see the stuff they threw at you! (But let's not forget that I did cook every other night.)" She replied, rambling. But Yusuke didn't mind; hearing her voice did enough to raise his spirits. After that embarrassing incident at the construction site, he had made it his goal so that she would never have to witness something like that ever again. Glancing back at Genki, whose face was shrouded in cloth, making her unrecognizable to anyone else besides him. But the damn woman kept staring at him, and she was so friggen quiet! Damn fossil, he thought, rubbing the back of his head.

But while he and Kit were catching up with each other, the floor beneath them began to quake, and Kit fell flat on her back while deck separated in half to reveal a large arena that was elevated in the air.

"Whoa," Kuwabara said, echoing everyone else's thoughts. Yusuke was about to go help Kit to her feet when Kurama beat him to it. And if he wasn't mistaken, he got the feeling that Kurama was just as annoyed with him as he was with Kurama. Yusuke gritted his teeth; so the pretty boy was still a combatant in his fierce battle of love. (Yusuke immediately regretted thinking the last thought, for it reminded him of Kuwabara with Yukina, but still, the point was made.) Then the peg legged pirate hobbled to a microphone and started to speak.

"Now listen up ye' landlubbers, there's a being fifteen of you teams on that there island, and since the committee only be' permittin' sixteen teams, that means you folks a be fighting to see which of ye' scoundrels gets participate. Now we's a doing this old school with a battle royal, one member up and whoever is left standing will allow his team to be fighting in the real deal!" he announced with a devilish glee in his voice. Yusuke eyeballed him from afar; not only was his accent and speech distracting, but who the hell did he think he was? No one had even mentioned anything of this sort before coming onto the island. Kit apparently was thinking along the same lines. Fury fumed in her eyes and as she tore herself from Kurama to scream obscenities at the pirate man.

"What the hell man!? You have to be out of your effing skull! What the hell did we ever do to you?!" she screamed, stopping her foot and causing the entire boat to turn and stare. Yusuke stifled his laughter; damn was it good to see her. She was still the same old spunky girl. From her previously quiet disposition, he feared that maybe she'd changed slightly, like maybe she'd actually matured a bit. He was thankful that he was wrong. But, turning now to the real issue at hand, who exactly were they going to send up to the slaughter? If anyone needed to be sacrificed, Kuwabara should be the first loser to go up, but with the looks of his shaking knees about to give way, he doubted that he could last a mere minute up there. Hiei looked rather unimpressed, and quite sleepy now that Yusuke looked at him, and Kurama looked indifferent as usual. And Lord knows Yusuke couldn't read Genki's expressions from within her mask, so she was out, all that was left was—

"I wanna do it!"

You're kidding me.

Yusuke was just a hair too late to grab Kit before she was jumping onto the arena, stretching her arms and legs as if she was preparing for a gymnast meet. While Yusuke didn't want to sound untrusting, he just didn't trust her, at least, not with fighting anyone. She even stated earlier that she wasn't confident in her skills, and while he wasn't one to rehash old wounds, she was pretty useless in the fight against Toguro. Kuwabara didn't appear too pleased himself.

"Kit, God damn it! Aw fuck it, she's already up there. Man, what happens if she loses? I mean, I can see them all ganging up on her in a flash, and I doubt they just send the losers home!" Kuwabara babbled in a panic. Hiei, who looked unfazed by Kit's spontaneous decision, hopped down from the rails and glared at Kuwabara.

"Don't make me slap you, you giant buffoon. Have a bit of faith in her, she's always seems to find some for you, even if it is unjustified. But that's still to say even if she does lose, who's to say we simply can't just kill everyone else on board? Then who's to say that we aren't the victors?" smirked Hiei in his usual sadistic tone that Yusuke had surprisingly gotten used to (though he wasn't quite sure if this was a good or bad thing as of right now). Kuwabara made a disgusted face, and mumbled quickly under his breath something of a "you must not have had many friends growing up, didja?". Kurama smiled at Kuwabara's comment, but stayed silent on the issue.

Yusuke then turned his attention to Kit, who was rocking back and forth from the heels to the balls of her feet, waiting for the pirate to give them the okay to start. Her eyes gleamed with sort of an excitement, like it was a game. Yusuke recognized it instantly, for it was the look that he too adorned when he fought. Whether or not she really was confident in her skills, he'd never know. All he knew is that she was itching to begin.

"And you're off!" Like anticipated, all the demons, turned, their lips splitting to reveal their splintered yellow fangs for teeth, extending their long claws from the tips of their fingers, and charged for Kit in one motion. But, instead of getting out of the way like a normal person (but then again, we were talking about Kit, there had yet to be anything normal about this girl that Yusuke could find), she was still standing there, rocking back on her feet, that impish smile still on her face.

What in Sam hill is that idiot girl doing?! Yusuke thought as he bit down on his lip, tasting the saltiness of his blood seep through his teeth. She had better know what she's doing…

And she did. Waiting for the opportune moment, she postponed movement until they were about ten feet from her, then she quickly pulled out her two daggers that were sheathed at her side, and she ran at speed that rivaled most human capabilities. Quick, choppy cuts were made simultaneously to the demons, all concentrated in the neck region for obvious reasons, and it wasn't but two minutes and twenty dead demons later that Kit was the decisive victor. All without even breaking a sweat or using an ounce of aura.

"Well I'll be damned," Yusuke uttered, he was left rather speechless. In comparison to the team, she still was the weakest, but, it was clear that she had greatly improved since he's last seen her. She grinned from the arena and gave them the "rock on" sign while she hopped down, rather un-eloquently, but still landing on her feet.

"Cha! See, told you I could win! And you had your doubts!" she giggled, then quickly after yawning. Hiei nodded his head in slight satisfaction.

"Not bad, but you got lazy at the end. If they had been real opponents they made have been able to turn the tables on you," he stated nonchalantly. Yusuke's eyes grew, where she'd gotten sloppy, he'd never know. But just as he was about to say something, the rest of the crew didn't seem as pleased as they did with the outcome of the fight. (Surprise, surprise.)

"Damn humans! There's no way in hell we can let them win! We can just rip off their ends and their insides and then once we're done we'll decide who the real winners are!" the demons roared in unison. Hiei spat irately.

"Those fools stole my idea. Bastards will pay for that one, if you don't mind, Yusuke," Hiei said, his right hand twitching with anticipation. Yusuke flashed a crooked smile.

"Hell ya Hiei!" he agreed, rearing back and blowing two of the closest demons into a pile of blood. Boy did he feel alive.

*************************

The whole thing was rather invigorating, actually. Who knew beating the pulp out of disgusting demons would leave you with such a warm tingling feeling on the inside? I didn't have a problem dealing with the third rate trash, as well as Kuwabara, who found similar enjoyment in trying out his new founded abilities. Yusuke looked as peppy as ever, and Hiei and Kurama got in numerous kills. I think the pirate captain thought we were inhuman, he was only half right.

But shortly after the escapade, we reached the island, which was undeserving of its name. While there was a large cliff that hung over possibly like that of a gallows, the vegetation was lush and the animals scurried amongst themselves in the woods between the port and the hotel, which might I add appeared very out of place in this rural area. It shined like a polished diamond amongst coal, and there was no doubt that it was a five star hotel that none of us could have afforded to have come to if we weren't guests at the tournament. The large one hundred percent Waterford crystal chandeliers only reinforced my case, as we entered the lobby, I becoming more and more self-conscious as I looked around.

Everyone was dressed in black tie attire, the women looked fashionable, and the men looking sleek and cool. We stood out in this crowd, with our ragged and tattered clothes and mud caked converse with tangled hair and the smell of sea salt clinging to our skin. Kurama was the only one that probably could have passed for an official's son, but he was about it. Looking down at myself, I figured that if I was two bra sizes smaller and had shorter hair, I would look like a teenage boy with the clothes I was wearing. We waited for the bell boy to greet us and thankfully took us to our rooms. And lord knows I was so ecstatic when he showed us the elevator, instead of dragging us up those dozen flights of stairs in which I would have surely passed out upon, knowing myself.

Our room was supposed to be one the few suites in the hotel, courtesy for being put up to the slaughter, at least our remaining days could be lived in luxury. The room was lavishly furnished with all sorts of handmade rose wood furniture, silk curtains, cool tile in the kitchen area and plushy rug that your feet literally sunk into. As the bell boy turned to the door, he mentioned something about a guy coming with food sooner or later. I certainly hoped sooner than later, because my stomach was growling a frightful noise. Choosing to ignore it, I flopped down on the couch and sprawled out, clutching the pillow and letting my back be consumed by its softness.

"Ooomygood! I-It's soooo soft!!" I said, my words unintentionally letting my words drag across my lips. But I deserved it; after spending two months sleeping on practically rocks, this was like heaven, this was like the cherry on top, this was like the Kool-aid with sugar for Christ's sake! My eyes fluttering back and forth, I could see Yusuke walking over and patting my head, could he really see the exhaustion that had consumed me?

"Really now? Let's find out how soft this couch really is!" he said, jumping onto it, his thigh a mere calculated three inches from my head. But either I was too delusional, or just didn't care, but my body refused to move. At all, even budge. But this wasn't to say that my heart wasn't reacting, on no, it was going a million miles a minute, the feeling similar to what it was when Kurama had asked me out. Closing my eyes, I listened to it thump, quiet then louder, and then louder and then--I quickly sat up, when did it just become me and Yusuke? Everyone had left to their rooms, Yusuke, had passed out cold right next to me. His sleeping face, had it always looked that innocent? Curled up in a ball like that, he reminded me of that of a child, and I had the strangest notion to go and stroke his soft face. But just how long had we been out here? The lights were flipped off and the digital clock glowed a bright red, reading, if I wasn't mistaken, 2:30 a.m. Leaning back against the couch, I snuggled into a comfortable position, trying to forget that it was Yusuke's feet that were brushed up against my own.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

I woke up to the feeling of warmth across the bottom half of my legs and the sun shining obnoxiously through the curtains and into my face. My neck felt horribly stiff from my lack of a pillow, and the first thought that entered my mind upon seeing sunlight was than I had horribly overslept. Then realizing that I wasn't in Hell Cabin anymore, that I didn't have to wake up at four anymore. I was so excited for a moment there, until realizing that the clock only read seven, and sudden depression swept over after thinking that waking up at seven was oversleeping. But I then quickly forgot about that as I looked down to see Yusuke curled up against my legs, in a different position than I could remember him in before I fell asleep. Quickly and gently pulling my legs from underneath him, I fell flat on the floor, onto my face, something that didn't feel all that great, while Yusuke laid there, not even stirring from my moving. Rummaging through my bag I found my toiletries and my clothes, rushed into the bathroom and attempted to make myself looked a bit presentable. My hair looked rather fly away, so I pulled it up into a high pony tail, amusing myself in the process by playing with my curls. The only good point about having curly hair. After that, I realized that this place was like an apartment and as I found Hiei and Kurama, completely dressed and already sipping coffee and eating a served breakfast from what I assumed was room service.

Rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I then wondered what possessed those two to wake up so damn early, and how they did it was another entirety on its own. But the food was grand; I'd never seen such beautifully designed food in my life. It almost looked to pretty to eat. The cinnamon rolls were glazed and its icing zigzagged across it and the plate to make it look like a dessert, the bacon had such a heavenly aroma that was mixed with grease and fat along with some potatoes that had been quickly pan fried with some buttery golden biscuits to the side. Whoever these people, they'd won me over.

"Whoa, talk about hospitality," I said in utter amazement. Hiei nodded slightly, as if he agreed, but disagreed at the same time.

"It seems they wish to fatten us up like pigs before the slaughter," he commented sadistically. Shuddering, I knew that Hiei was a great guy and all, but someone had to do something about that pessimistic twisted outlook of his, cause it was really creeping me out. Majorly. Parking myself between Hiei and Kurama, I reached for a biscuit and globbed mountains of butter on top of it before digging in.

Taking a bite, I then noticed that Kuwabara wasn't here, and to top it off, Yusuke himself had not awoken. What the hell were they doing? I thought as I quickly got up, shoving the last bite into my mouth, going back into the living room. Taking a quick left flank towards Kuwabara's room, I tip toed in towards the side of his bed, leaned in close to his ear and-

"Kuzuma Kuwabara! Get your lazy ass up!" I screamed gleefully. Kuwabara sprang up and hit his head against the back board and clutched his chest as sweat seeped through his shirt.

"What the fuck is going on?!" he yelped. Not being able to contain myself any longer, I doubled over in hysteria, tears flowing from my eyes and down my cheeks as Kuwabara sent a vicious glare in my direction.

"That's not cool." He said sternly.

"No, but it sure as hell was funny, damn you should have seen the look on your face!" I replied, still laughing, my hands clutching my sore sides. Kuwabara turned his nose to the air and slid off his bed and into the bathroom, proceeding to slam the door quite loudly in response to my continuing laughter. It was just so amusing to scare Kuwabara; my big cousin's expressions were just to priceless to give up. Skipping out into the living room, I noticed Yusuke was still snug on the side of the couch. And while I knew that I had scared Kuwabara, and not him, his scream was loud enough to wake the dead.

Walking over there, I kneeled down and started to poke him obnoxiously in his stomach, hoping to see some kind of reaction. I didn't. He didn't even stir. I then decided to punch him in the arm. He still didn't budge. Then I slapped him across the face, leaving a nice red imprint on his cheek. Still nothing. Finally I pushed him head first on the ground, thinking that now he was just messing with me. He still didn't move. Terror.

"KURAMA!" I screamed, horrified. Kurama and Hiei darted into the room with their brows furrowed and their eyes in fear.

"What's going on?!" they asked in unison, which normally would have made me giggle, but I my brain was too frantic as of this moment. I pointed at Yusuke, while backing away, I was almost in tears.

"Yusuke's dead!!" I screamed. Kurama and Hiei exchanged puzzled looks, then looked curiously at me.

"What are you talking about?" Hiei asked, with Kurama nodding in agreement.

"Please, what's going on?"

I just kept frantically pointing.

"Yusuke, he won't wake up! I poked him, pushed him, slapped him, and he still didn't move!!" I explained, my spasm still not ceasing. I was almost half expecting for Yusuke to start laughing any moment now, telling me that he'd gotten me good. I waited, hoped, but it didn't come.

As Kurama bent over beside Yusuke, I was in a panic. What if he really was dead? What would've happened then? What would I do? What would any of us do for that matter. Thoughts jittered and bubbled as I bit furiously at my nails, when Kurama's chuckle broke the silence.

"No, Kit. He's not dead. He still has a heartbeat, a rather loud one at that. I believe that because of his intense training, his body is compensating for the lack of rest that he's had. So, he's recuperating by sleeping. Silly," I blushed a deep crimson. Even Hiei was chuckling quietly in the background. Damn was I dumb.

Storming out of the hotel room in rants of English slang swears all slurred together in a strange lyrical sense and then I slumped against the wall, hoping to get some fresh air. Closing my eyes, I tried to force myself to calm down. Just calm down, just calm down, just cal-

"Hey, you're Kazuma's cousin! What are you doing here?"

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar, high pitch, and dare I say, girly? voice that rang through my ears like screeching chimes.

Keiko Yukimura.

I sprang up in an instant, almost hitting my head.

"What the hell-I mean, why the hell are-I mean, what are you doing here?!" I demanded, almost swearing at her too. This was no place for Keiko! (or for myself for that matter, but certainly not for her!) I thought, stabbing my nails into my arm in hopes that I was in a nightmare and I was going to wake up at any minute now.

"I came to see Yusuke," she said a-matter-of-fact-ly, her eyes narrowing down on me. Did she know that I liked Yusuke too? But, that would be silly, since she is dating that one guy, what on earth would possess her to come here? I raised an eyebrow. She wouldn't have found out on her own…oh.

"Did Botan have anything to do with you coming here?" I asked, knowing deep down that babbler mouth Botan probably spilled the beans before we left. Keiko nodded, and I felt exasperated; my hands to my face, tugging down on the skin. This was going to be horrible, I could just feel it. There was just something about her coming here that left a bad aftertaste lingering in my mouth and a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach. Turning, swishing, and burning. I didn't like it. And I certainly had to get rid of her for right now.

"Well, Keiko, I hate to break it to you, but Yusuke is still asleep and we're about to go to the fight, as a team, (I almost wanted to add "without you") and well, it's just a team thing, so no offense or anything, but you can't really…come…along, yah," I lied, scratching the back of my head, a bad habit I did when I lied blatantly. Luckily she didn't know those things. So she flashed a sweet smile and twirled in the other direction as she casually trotted down the hall. I cursed under my breath, my molars gritting fiercely. I wasn't so much angry at her as I was at her looks. Perfect little Asian girl, that's what she was. Straight, brown black hair that swept her shoulders, her bangs cut just right above her eyebrows, her abnormally large honey eyes that light crisp, dewy olive skin…

I suddenly felt quite disgusted at my own burnt skin, which was so dry that I was surprised I didn't see cacti growing from it. I hadn't done much during my training to keep my appearances up, and it certainly showed. My skin was flakey, my hair was coarse, messy, and rough, and my eyes now had dark circles underneath them. My arms had grown in size from the muscle I had gained as well as my legs, certainly contrasting from Keiko's slender arms and fragile white legs. I didn't stand a chance. Not if she still liked him, like I suspected she did. I loathed being in the same room as her, it made me feel so inferior that I wanted to gouge out her own eyes, rip out her hair and tear her skin, like the animal I really was.

Then the door behind me creaked to reveal Kuwabara with Yusuke slung over his back with Kurama and Hiei not too far behind. Exchanging looks of agreement and slight apprehension, we all walked down the hallway, not sure of what to expect.

**********************

Hiei's eyes scanned the stadium, and its audience. Rowdy, loud, obnoxious, and clearly disproving of their team, he wasn't too impressed with anything that this place offered. Then again, it wasn't often that Hiei was impressed with anything. The demons in the stands threw taunting remarks particularly at him and Kurama, feelings of bitterness and betrayal fueling their words. He simply shrugged them off, low life demons didn't have any room to be barking at them. Though it could be said that Hiei didn't have to say anything at them at all, for Kit, who seemed even more peeved than when she'd stormed out of her room, wasn't taking the negative attention, too, how do you say, professionally?

"What was that you fucking pieces of shit?! God damn it, shut the fuck up for I tear all of you into pieces and send you to hell!" she replied in the same barking tone as they threw at her. Hiei couldn't help but smile, despite knowing that this sudden burst of energy was derived from some anger inside of her. Kit was the only on that could do that to him, he knew that if Kuwabara was doing the same thing, he'd probably toss a sarcastic comment towards him, finding the oaf as annoying as the crowd. As they stood there, waiting for the other team to arrive, Hiei's mind drifted into thoughts he wasn't quite used to.

Yukina.

Whenever he thought of Kit now a days, Yukina was often close behind it. Since Kit gave off that little sister appeal, maybe she indirectly reminded him of what life could have slightly been if he and Yukina would have been allowed to live together. Would they have been doting siblings? Would Yukina have clung to him like Kit clung to him? Would he risk his life for her numerous times over and over, not wanting to let her out of his sight? Hiei wanted, no, he longed to tell Yukina of the truth buried deep within his heart. But, he shouldn't, he wouldn't, there was no need to. Besides, she didn't need him anymore than anyone else did, he thought as Kuwabara marched up to the middle of the arena as the other team's captain too walked up there.

A bit taller than Kuwabara, his hair was a bleach blond with narrow squinty eyes and a black shirt that clung to his chest, trying to reveal what Hiei would assume was his proud muscles. Pfft, like he was compensating for something. Hiei didn't quite like the guy, since last night he and the small one, Rinku was it? Mad their appearance while Yusuke and Kit were sound asleep. The man, Zeru, made idiots out of all of them, so that definitely left a black mark on Hiei's account. If anyone was killing him, Hiei was going to be the lucky bastard that did.

The first opponent was the small kid, Rinku, whose annoyingly large grin never faltered and who stood no higher than three feet from what Hiei guessed. Clown like attire, three red stars tattooed underneath his eyes, Kuwabara better beat the little twerp if he knew what was good for him.

But still, Hiei didn't pay attention, if that's what you were looking for. He just zoned in and out, his mind relaxing in a blank state, and despite his want for Kuwabara to win, he knew he wasn't. It was just like Kuwabara to get his ass handed to him by a child. Which he did. Call it instinct, or telepathy, he really didn't care, he just knew Kuwabara well enough (which scared him slightly). The next fight though, left room for doubt.

It was Kurama vs. Roto; sure enough his gut told him that Kurama wouldn't get beat by a low life like that, but Hiei couldn't help but feel anxious and the next fight progressed.

*************************

Whacking Kuwabara over the head, I said something along the lines of "I can't believe you got your assed kicked by a kid!" he not saying anything in return, but flushing magenta, which only slightly satisfied me. But I still couldn't believe he'd lost, I mean, I knew it was a totally idiot at times, but fighting was supposed to be his forte! He'd grew up beating up on people for Christ's sake! But not too long into the previous fight, Botan made her appearance, hoping the fence and to come and cheer us on from a closer look. Unfortunately, after that, I could see where Keiko, Shizuru, and…Atsuko1? Botan really did screw up, didn't she? I thought as I sent a horrid glare in Keiko's direction, hoping she could see it that it was intended for her.

"Go Kurama!" I cheered, hugging the wall of the raised arena floor as Kurama seemingly waltzed into the ring. He turned around halfway, smiled, though he didn't respond as he continued towards the middle. He was always so freakishly calm whenever anything occurred, and though you'd never get me to admit it out loud, it kind of scared me a little. It was one thing to be cocky, but it was another thing to be so calm.

Honestly, I was on pins and needles. I studied Kurama's fluid moments as he dodged, no, danced around Roto's strikes and attempts to attack. He was completely missed Kurama, or rather, Kurama was just too good for Roto. Or at least, that's impression I originally got, but something was just too weird about everything.

"For some reason, maybe I'm just crazy, but I don't like the feeling that I get from that guy. It's too weird," I commented to no one in particular, while twiddling my thumbs. Hiei nodded in agreement.

"I agree, despite the odds against Roto. Kurama clearly has the advantage, and his aura surpasses most demons, especially this low life, but I too can't shake the feeling like something peculiar is going to occur." Kuwabara couldn't comprehend what we were going on about, even though his sixth sense was stronger than mine.

"Yah, you two thing that. I still think Kurama's got this in the bag, though he wouldn't kill him to stop toying with him…but Hiei, I gotta ask you, where does Kurama keep his rose whip, I mean, it would hurt to keep it tangled up in his hair…" he asked, folding his arms against his chest. Hiei returned the stupefied look that Kuwabara had previously given us.

"You must be an idiot, he doesn't keep a whip, he just carries a simple rose bud with him, and makes it grow with his aura. A small garden weed can be turned into a deadly weapon in Kurama's hand," Hiei commented, like it was given knowledge. I blushed slightly with embarrassment; I didn't know that either, but I'd be damned if I let Hiei know that.

"What the-?!"

I turned, in Kuwabara's reaction, to the ring, and let out a small gasp. Blood was trickling down the side of Kurama's cheek, a slash mark from the right underneath his eye to his ear. The wound wasn't deep, and the fact that Kurama was hurt didn't necessarily bother me, but I could see Kurama's hands behind his back, and his stance open. He was clearly not defending himself.

"Hiei, what-what is Kurama doing?" I stuttered, still stunned. Hiei shrugged, he too not knowing the reason behind Kurama's actions. Roto then grinned slyly, and spoke a few words that my ears failed to pick up, and then he started punching.

Brutally, punching. Kurama was just taking it, his body acting like a limp rag doll, no retaliation. My mind refused to comprehend what was going on, he was just taking it, and taking it, why the hell wouldn't he fight back?!

"Fucking Kurama! Fight back!" I screamed, until my voice went hoarse and my throat dried up. I knew it wasn't helping anyone, not even me, but maybe the sound of his name comforted me a little, and he turned around and smiled his usual sweet smile, not fazed by the injuries inflicted upon him at all. O how evil I was. So fickle in my emotions, I couldn't even bear to watch him fight. Burying my face into my hands, I was so cruel in my lack of response, I had taken advantage of Kurama's kindness to try and sort out my own problems. But I did like him, I knew that, and I knew that if he were to go now, I would be devastated, he was my family, and I felt so cruel in avoiding him these past few weeks. So please, please don't die! I thought, the thought bearing down on me like a thousand pounds.

But then I heard the crowd go crazy again, but, not in cheers, but in jeers. I felt a small tap on my shoulder, and I looked from my hiding place that Hiei was pointing to the ring.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

Kurama was standing there, only the one cut on his face and a few bruises on his arms, but that was it. Roto was nowhere to be found, and in his stead was a garden of exquisite flowers in full bloom. Kurama…Kurama won?

"What the hell?" I asked, pleasantly puzzled, but still perplexed at the same time as I wiped the tears from my face. The corners of Hiei's mouth turned upward into a crooked grin.

"Simple, Kurama outsmarted him."

Kurama hopped down from the ring, only to be knocked over by me, who had tackled him the moment his feet touched the ground. I didn't care right now if Kuwabara said if I was being improper, or that my dumb American personality had taken over what I knew was proper etiquette. I didn't care if I knew deep down I still liked Yusuke. I was just so overcome by joy that I couldn't contain myself. May God punish me later, but right now, I was too happy; Kurama was alive. His heart still beating, his breath still warm and comforting. I could feel Kurama's arms slip around me and give a small squeeze before I took my head from his chest as he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but since I am a bit injured, you're a bit heavier than normal," he said, grinning as he lightly bonked his head against mine. I blushed a vibrant pink, but I still smiled as I slid off of him. Kuwabara like I had anticipated was screaming some sort of lecture, but my ears didn't even process the words coming from his lips. Too foreign, and I just didn't care for that matter.

Not too long afterwards, at the eve of our celebration, the blond hair man named Zeru stepped up, his arms folded sternly and his stare focused on Hiei. Hiei returned the look, rather happily as he threw off his scarf.

"Wait, Hiei, what are you doing?" I asked, as he started for the ring.

"What does it look like? I'm going to vent off some steam by killing him," he said simply, while he and Zeru stood face to face, Hiei looking rather small in comparison.

While I had the utmost faith in Hiei, I was convinced he was going into this way too cocky for his own good. Glancing over at Yusuke, I sighed; still sleeping at a time like this? I was half way tempted to give him a quick swift kick in the side, and see if that did anything for me, but since nothing had really worked before, I wasn't going to waste my time with such trivial matters.

But it wasn't a moment into the fight, before Hiei even had a chance to move, I had just blinked, when Zeru made his move.

Instantaneous.

Fire.

Lots and lots of fire.

Consuming fire.

Engulfing Hiei.

Silent.

"Kuwabara…" That's all I could muster to say. Words refused to escape my lips, and my lungs started to close up on me, I couldn't breathe. I looked for my cousin for some form of comfort, some form of hope.

"No…it can't be…" Kuwabara replied, just as stunned as I was. Kurama, too, said nothing. Choking back the tears, I started screaming, even worse than I was with Kurama.

"Hiei! Hiei! Wake up Hiei! Please wake up! God damn it please wake up! Don't be dead! Who else can I talk to! God damn it! Get up!" I could feel Kurama pulling me back from going on top of the ring, I was struggling. I had to help him, he could be dying and I was just standing here! The tears were flowing, I was screaming louder than before, that's all I ever did.

*****************

Hiei's eyes flickered open as he heard a pounding scream echoing in his ears. His name, over and over and over again. Not only that, but numbers were being called out as well, "3-4-", if he didn't get up, that would be one more loss for them, he'd be even with Kuwabara, and that was humiliation that he couldn't live with. His hand twitched as he gritted his teeth; damn.

*****************

My heart soared when Hiei staggered to his feet, but then it was immediately swamped in fear as black flames engulfed him as his bandanna burst into flames and his jagan eye, the first time I'd seen it, glowed a deep violet and his crimson eyes burned with such intensity. The flames that consumed him transformed into a lavender hue, and it intensified around his right arm.

And then it shot out. Taking the form of a dragon, it rushed towards Zeru in a moment's time frame, a blinding light emitted from it. My hands flew to face to cover my eyes. And after a few seconds I opened my eyes, and after my eyes adjusted for a few seconds, and then Zeru was gone.

Obliterated.

Not a trace.

I ran over to Hiei as soon as the call was made, I wanted to go and pound against him, to tell him never to do something like that again. For worrying me so. His arm was charred black, and he could hardly even move a finger. I took out the bandages that I had tucked behind my arm, and held them out. He shook his head.

"It wouldn't matter at this point," he said, flinching as he pushed his arm into his pocket. He was in such pain.

"But, but at least cover it, let me get some cold water or something," I pleaded; I wanted to help, in any way shape or form. This tournament was really had an effect on my nerves. But he brushed me off as he leaned against the stadium wall.

"Hiei…"

Kurama came up and shook his head as well, "Just leave him be, he'll come around in a few moments," he said reassuringly. I sighed, hoping that he was right.

The two other remaining members of the opposing team started to scrabble for their lives and darted out to one of the exits, leaving Rinku behind, or at least, attempted to leave Rinku. They didn't make it a few feet into it when a loud crash could be heard.

"Who is…?"

*******************

Yusuke gagged as the familiar pungent stench of cheap booze invaded his nostrils and stung his nose. He blinked, as his eyes opened, and he reached for his throat. After quietly getting up, he could see that everyone's attention was focused on a mysterious figure that lingered in the exit, silhouetted in the shadows. This left Yusuke to make his dramatic entrance. Grinning, Yusuke leaped up in one motion and into the arena without anyone noticing.

"…if Yusuke doesn't wake…up?"

"Where's Yusuke?"

"Up here!" Yusuke replied, shouting as he stretched his arms and legs. Everyone's eyes went big, except for Kit, he tried with all her might to look as angry as she could, but as usual, failing horribly.

"You freaking loser! You've been asleep this whole time!" she shouted angrily. Yusuke's lips split into a large grin.

"Sorry bout that, I just needed some time. But now I'm back and ready for action!" he then sucked in some air, and he elevated his voice, "So listen up you demons! I've been trying to sleep through your crap long enough and now I'm ready to kick some ass!" he yelled over the roaring crowd, a feat worth noting. Looking over at Kit, he noticed her trying terribly trying to stifle laughter, and Kuwabara looking like, well, looking like Kuwabara. But his opponent didn't seem too impressed by his speech. His expression was static, and he his appearances were even more clown like than Rinku's. His hair was cut Mohawk style and was dyed a light purple, his skin was a rich tan color and he looked as though he hadn't shaved in a few weeks, and bottle of booze in hand, and his entire body reeked with alcohol, as if he'd been drinking since sun up. Though Botan was being a nag as usual, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Yusuke, are you sure you want to fight? I mean, you've been sleeping for almost a whole day!" Yusuke shrugged.

"That's why I'm taking on this jerk. I always get some exercise in the morning," he replied happily, walking up to him while cracking his knuckles. Staring into the eyes of his opponents, he hoped the this would be a worthy fight.

1 Atsuko, is Yusuke's mother for those of you that don't remember. In the anime, she's absent from the Tournament, but in the manga, which is where I base most of this fanfiction from, she's is actually present throughout the entire thing, giving her a more prominent role. Since I personally enjoy all of her quirks, I included her in here.


	11. Chapter 11

Wow! It feels like forever since I've last updated!! Sorry it's taken so long, I got banned from my computer, so it's been hard to upload the stories!! But I appreciate everyone who's been reading, or still reads!! This is a loong chapter filled with DRAMA. LOL. Hope you like it!!

**Chapter XI**

My mouth stretched widely into a dreary yawn as I strolled through the dirt path in the woods. Damn was I impressed; never before had I seen such an intense, heart pounding, earth shattering, mesmerizing, yet horrible gruesome fight between two men in my life. Grinning, I thought about these guys had easily influenced me in the short time I had resided with them; a few months ago, I would have been horrified, maybe even disgusted at the show that had come before me today, but not now, now I was pumped, excited, and yet slightly tired, despite my not fighting in this round, seeing those two guys go crazy over each other wore me out! But I hadn't even really talked to Yusuke since he'd gotten here, so I wanted to congratulate him on a job well done, and well, you know…so my motives weren't entirely innocent, and I was moving at a pace faster than I would have liked, but Keiko being here made me anxious and paranoid, so I didn't want to miss my chance. Looking over the tops of the bushes, I thought I saw a familiar bushy black haired Yusuke, and I was about to run over to him when I heard a voice that didn't belong to him.

"Don't worry, Yusuke, I'm not with him anymore, I love you now, I know I do!" I stopped dead in my tracks and hid behind a large oak. Though the voice didn't belong to Yusuke, it was not foreign to me; I was right in being paranoid for once, for that screechy high pitched shriek belonged to the one and only—

Keiko.

What is that witch doing?! I thought angrily, biting my lip and bringing my ear as close as I could to hear the conversation. But to my dismay, I couldn't hear all that well, as well as I didn't actually catch all of Keiko's previous sentence, all I'd really heard was "Don't worry, Yusuke…" and then it got quiet. So I jumped to a higher branch, hoping to get a better view as well as to be able to hear; now I knew it was rude and wrong to pry, but I just couldn't help it, I'd repent later anyways.

But it wasn't like it helped me any better than where I was; the only real improvement was that I could see Yusuke and Keiko, hearing was something that was left out. But they were talking, I could see that. Casually, to be certain, it wasn't an argument, like I'd secretly hoped for. But it seemed as though Keiko was doing most of the talking, Yusuke simply standing there with his arms folded against his chest and his eyes wide and intent. Did that mean he was interested? Was I merely imagining things?

Then it got bad.

Keiko kept moving closer and closer towards Yusuke, like a lioness approaching her pretty, and then—her arms—she draped them around his neck—her feet tiptoed in a manner so her eyes were gazing into his—she leaned in close, and her lips opened as she—

I turned away and ran; I hit the tree branches hard as I jumped from tree to tree. I landed wrong; my ankle twisted and I collapsed. I suddenly felt really wet.

I was crying.

I suddenly felt really disgusted at myself and annoyed, not to mention embarrassed for feeling so confident; Yusuke didn't like me, how could he? I felt ugly in comparison to Keiko, whose glossy mahogany hair swept her shoulders and her large chocolate eyes shone brightly as it complimented her light moist olive skin fit to be placed on a porcelain doll. Me on the other hand, who's nappy curly hair was loosely tied up in a messy pony tail with frayed ends and dull dark eyes which looked blacker than night at times, and my dried cracked skin from my months of training that was now a burnt dirt color. Not to mention, that now my eyes were probably swollen and red from the tears and my throat was caving in. I pulled my knees to my chest and held myself quietly in the comfort of the trees, rocking myself back and forth.

So, Yusuke…he doesn't matter, did he?

He doesn't.

That's right.

So that leaves…

Kurama.

"Kurama…" the words tasted like honey on the tip of my tongue. His words echoed in my mind over and over…his kindness seeping through my brain and intertwined with my emotions; my feeble, vulnerable emotions. I knew what I'd wanted, I should have done it from the beginning, I was stupid to take this long. Would he even take me now? I squeezed tighter, and prayed silently. My heart started skipping beats, and my chest started to squeeze back. I knew what I had to do.

I opened the hotel door slightly and peeked in; in the living room, sitting properly with his ankles crossed slightly and in his hands was a book that I had seen him reading before. His eyes were focused on the words, going to and fro, his hair giving off its own radiance greater than that of the lamp beside him. But even though he seemed as though he was focused on the book, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that his mind wasn't there, like it was thinking of other things, far from here…but then again, I was finding out that I was wrong on many more things than I had originally anticipated…I shook my head. No, come and do what you wanted to do, don't be a chicken now, not when it counts! I thought, placing my hand over my heart, hoping to calm it down. But you know, how sometimes your conscience likes to duke it out between themselves? I was going through that. Part of me still wondered about Yusuke, and a part of me was angry that I was still wondering about Yusuke.

But what if, what if he doesn't really like her?

HE FUCKING KISSED HER!

But we technically didn't see that.

Might as well have, he let her get all close, rubbing her body up against his.

But…

But what?! You retard, you're going to keep Kurama waiting after Yusuke has been playing you like a fiddle?

…

That's what I thought.

But I…

You certainly were mad at Yusuke earlier.

But that was because I was upset, now I'm I can think rationally.

Pfft! Rational my ass, so what are we doing here?

I…I can make mistakes!

And not telling Kurama that you like him will be an even bigger one! You do like him, and you liked him first, Yusuke was just a fickle crush. You can get over him.

…he was?

Yah, you were just touched by his kindness, cause you're dumb like that.

I was?

You were.

So I really do like Kurama?

You gonna tell him?

Yah…I think I am.

Convincing myself, was harder than I thought, but I rationed quickly, since I was standing right outside in the hallway, where people were starting to look at me funny and make obscene gestures. I opened the door again, and stepped forward.

Moment of truth.

"Um…Hi, Kurama," I said entering, my heart still failing to calm down, my hands shaking terribly. Kurama glanced up from his book and smiled, he still hand a bandage on his right cheek.

"Hello Kit, is there something you want?" he asked sweetly, like usual. I hesitated, and forced the lump in my throat down. This, this was going to be a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I walked, no, stumbled in and sat down next him.

"No, just…I just wanted to talk, if that's alright," I said, amazed at myself for being able to get that out. Yusuke was nowhere to be found in my mind, my other self was right; it was just a fickle crush, wasn't it? He really didn't matter.

Kurama's eyes seemed to read my mind, for his face softened, and his posture relaxed as he placed his hand over mine, but then attempted to withdraw it before I pulled it back. He was surprised, but didn't pull back. That was comforting.

"Is…Is everything alright?" he inquired, his eyes penetrating me.

I couldn't contain myself, I wanted to break down, "I…I…I love you Kurama!" I replied, almost screaming, I clasped one hand over my mouth, and tried to be calmer. It seemed that my other hand was crushing Kurama's. "I…I mean, I, I really do, I'm sorry it took so long, and I'm sorry that I avoided you like I did, I know it was horrible of me, and you must think of me as an awful creep, but I…I was just so surprised, and I had to sort out my feelings, but I really love you Kurama! I really do, please, I just—I just—" Kurama placed his other hand over my trembling lips. His eyes, they were no longer the kind eyes that I had grown so used to seeing, but now, now they were different. Softer, more loving, a look I'd never seen from anyone before. I felt his body go limp and collapse on mine, on the couch; his weight on me.

His lips were close to my ears, and the hand that I had been clutching now was intertwined with my fingers. His breathing was light, but hot against me…was it him or me that was trembling so?

"Do…do you mean that?" he asked, whispering. Was…was that fear?

I took my other hand and brought it around his waist and squeezed.

"Yes, I do, I mean every word of it," I answered, suddenly out of breath.

Kurama pulled his head up and his hair felt like silk against my bare shoulders. Our bodies fit nicely together, his warming mine. I titled my head slightly, to get a better look at those gorgeous eyes of his. Descriptions could do no justice, for his eyes of jade looked so fierce and yet…so…I couldn't even begin to describe the emotions that swirled within them. But I too, returned the gaze, my body subconsciously move towards him, like the unguarded moth to an open flickering flame. My lips barely brushed against his when his own came crushing down upon me.

Instinct took over completely.

My body, heart, and mind had never been ever exposed to such an experience, dreams did not, could not even hope to compare. My body arched slightly and my head tilted to the side to deepen our kiss. His hands were caressing the side of my back, rubbing up and down in rhythm with our kiss. I was going crazy. My hands went to frame Kurama's face, and he then released me from his tender love to sweep his lips across my neck, small nips that made me body convulse with sweet satisfaction. Such compassion swelled within my heart, and I forgot that Yusuke even existed.

******************

Thrusting his hands deep into the pits of his pockets, Yusuke grumbled as he fumed silently to himself; whatever drug Keiko was on, he needed to make sure he steered clear of it, because lord did it make her delusional! What was with her lately? First she dumps him, then pretends he doesn't exist, and now randomly, after months of silence, expects him to run back into her open arms and spontaneously rekindle old love? No way in hell. Yusuke wasn't that kind of guy, not after she'd treated him the way she did, and this was without mentioning that he know loved Kit, possibly even more than he'd loved Keiko he thought as he scrubbed his lips against his sweater, hoping to get Keiko's taste from his mouth.

But Keiko had done one thing for him, it had confirmed his feelings; it was only mere seconds, maybe not even that long, after Keiko had attempted to kiss him that he'd shoved her away unmercifully. He didn't even know why he'd try to talk to her in the first place, he knew how Keiko was, but maybe part of him thought that she'd try to be friends again, like how it started. Despite the mutual feelings between each other, him and Keiko never acted like a formal couple, or could even state that they were one, so for her to act as if they had was completely insane. But now all he wanted to do was confront Kit, tell her his feelings, and hope she'd accept them more warmly than he had to Keiko.

Upon entering the hotel room, he noticed that the lights had all been switched off and he could hear Kuwabara's roaring snore even from the opening. Since Kit was nowhere to be seen, he'd figured that she too was asleep in her room, and figured that his confession could wait until tomorrow, since it was their day off. He flopped down onto his bed, and thanked God that they had gotten a five star hotel, because he wasn't sure how much longer his back could take sleeping on rocks and wood. But as soon as Yusuke closed his eyes, he sensed Hiei coming into the room; sitting up, he greeted him.

"What's up Hiei?" he asked, giving Hiei a halfway grin. Him and Hiei weren't the best of buddies, but they were pretty okay of friends. Fighting buddies if you will, and they had a bit of mutual understanding between each other, and Yusuke felt less threatened by him, since Hiei gave off no vibes towards Kit and she none to him. But for some reason, Hiei wasn't looking like his usual smart ass self, quick to insult anyone within a twenty foot radius; rather, he looked a bit uneasy. This worried Yusuke almost as much as the question that Hiei shot at him.

"Just looking for Kurama and Kit, seen them?" Hiei asked. Yusuke froze instantly. They…they weren't in their rooms? Then where…where would the both of them be? Kuwabara was here, Hiei was here, he'd just passed Botan on the way up…HE was here, that meant the two of them were alone.

Alone.

"Aren't they just in their rooms?" Yusuke hesitantly inquired, though it was a futile question to which he already knew the answer to.

"Well, don't you think that would be the first place I'd check?" he answered sharply. Then Hiei started to mutter something, something Yusuke caught.

"What did you just say?!" Yusuke roared, leaping off of the bed.

"You heard?"

"YES!"

"…you sure you can handle it?" Hiei asked again, the sharpness in his voice enough to sear through Yusuke. Yusuke flinched, but didn't back down. If he'd heard what he just thought he'd heard, then all of hell was going to break loose. He'd make sure of it.

"Well, as it seems you'll find out soon enough anyways, it's better you not hear it from them, since you'll probably go into a frenzy. About two weeks ago, while we were at the cabin, Kurama asked Kit to go out with him. She was hesitant to answer because she believed that had feelings for someone else as well as Kurama and she wanted to make sure of what she felt before answering anybody. But, as of this moment, I assume she feels as if the other guy doesn't like her the same way, or that she doesn't like him the same way, so she took up Kurama's proposal," Hiei explained, not a trace of sympathy to be found; only blunt, honest, cold hard truth. But his eyes were penetrating, and looking deep into Yusuke's, as if he was the culprit.

But Yusuke didn't respond, didn't even move, couldn't even think. Moments passed, and all Yusuke could scrounge up was, "Who was the other guy Kit liked?" but even he couldn't believe he was asking that question, he knew, that it wouldn't matter to Kit now, she wasn't that kind of girl, but he had to try. He had to.

"As if I'm permitted to tell you that," he replied icily. He knew; Yusuke knew he knew.

"You know, don't you, she tells you everything, God damn it she'd probably even tell you the color of her underwear if it had any bearing!" Yusuke said in a desperate scream, he didn't know what compelled him to say such things, but screaming made him feel better; it always made him feel better.

"If it makes you feel any better, yes, I know, but I swore I wouldn't tell, not like it matters," he answered, started to walk out of the room. Yusuke couldn't take it. He was going nuts; before Hiei walked out, he lunged at him and snatched the collar of Hiei's shirt and clutched it within his angry fists.

"Please just…just tell me!" Yusuke begged. Hiei didn't even bother looking at him.

"Is it really relevant? Isn't Keiko here for you now?" he answered, knowing he'd hit a sore spot within Yusuke's stomach. But Yusuke was flabbergasted; how could he have known what Keiko had said? Hiei wasn't around for it, and he was certain Keiko wouldn't have blabbed to anyone, because sympathy wouldn't have been granted to her. Yusuke was about to ask when he heard bits of a conversation coming into the hotel room.

Kit and Kurama; he was sure of it.

"Yah, that's the best meal I've had it a while, especially since I didn't have to cook it, but I think you're better at making tempura…but thanks for taking me out," he thought he heard Kit say as he heard a door close shut. Yusuke released the cloth in his hands, knowing that this situation would lead to different problems that he didn't feel like messing with. Yusuke thought at first it'd be better if he'd left and calmed down, but that wasn't happening since they were blocking the exit, and Hiei was right about one thing. Yusuke was going into a frenzy; never before had he wanted to rip off Kurama's head so much as he did now. Knowing that blood would spill over the beige rug and ruin the furniture made him smile slightly on the inside, his outward expression in a scowl.

Kit's head was resting on Kurama's shoulders, her eyes fluttering in and out of sleep, while he was propping her up as their fingers were intertwined.

Kurama had won.

Hands down.

Yusuke took a step back; his heel clicking against the side of the cabinet that he'd forgotten was there, tipping Kurama off of his existence.

"I'm sorry, did we wake you up?" he asked courteously, his voice driving Yusuke up the wall. It was brimming with triumph and success that Yusuke felt like puking. Yusuke shook his head and forced words out.

"No, but is Kit awake? I hoped I could talk to her tonight?" he asked, while receiving glare from both Hiei and Kurama, though Kurama's was not so apparent, but Yusuke could tell. He wanted Kurama to know his anger, he wanted him to know that he was frustrated, and at his wits end, he wanted him to know that he'd snatched the very girl he'd been fighting for, he wanted him to know that it was taking all that he could not to snatch her away from his arms. He wanted him to know that.

Kit picked her head up slightly, but her eyes were drunk with exhaustion and her body was limp with sleep.

"Sort of, you need something, Yusuke?" she asked, her voice even fading in and out. Yusuke didn't say anything, his eyes glued to the ground, he hoped he could at least hide his anger from her.

"It can wait, I'll just tell you tomorrow," he said, hoping the anger within his voice was not so obvious.

*******************

I had that dream again; the one after that night at the theater. It was exactly the same, yet, different at the same time. I couldn't tell you what was different about it; only that it was. But this time, I could remember a pair of luscious chocolate eyes that were swirled with caramel and dipped in cream. Never had I seen such gorgeous brown eyes; for brown eyes never really left impressions on me, because they were so common, everyone practically had them, normally it was the blue and the green eyes that left you in awe. But not these, these were brown, no, brown was too bland of a word.

But last night, last night seemed like a dream as well, fuzzy and clouded, I tried to recall what had actually occurred. Then it hit me.

I was Kurama's girlfriend.

The thought was exciting, jubilating even. My mind then felt the need to remember and flash images on what had happened after I'd told him.

I turned a red that rivaled Hiei's eyes.

That explained the dream.

I gripped the bed sheets, hoping to control my giggles and happiness that overflowed my entire being. Glancing over, I almost let out a gasp of disbelief upon seeing Hiei still sleeping soundly in his bed. Such a rare occurrence, I don't think I'd ever actually come across it before. It was…literally amazing.

But not wanting to wake my sleepy short friend, I quietly slid off my bed and tiptoed into the living room, hoping not to disturb him. I had originally thought that I would make breakfast to commemorate our victory, but since Kuwabara seemingly ditched, Yusuke wasn't anywhere to be found, and the annoying fact that we had NO kitchen. There wasn't even a microwave for Christ's sake! All that could be found was a small wine cooler and a button that read "click for room service" God damn rich people, I thought bitterly, as I spouted angrily at the boy on the other end of the receiver while I'll ordered my food. Donuts sounded about right, but I wasn't too sure what everyone else wanted to eat, or what the hotel was going to pay for us.

See, now if they actually let me cook, we wouldn't be in the situation! I thought as the bellboy handed me my food and I slammed the door in his face. Even if it wasn't his fault, I was still quite perturbed. I was about to go nudge Hiei when I found that he was no longer in his bed, or even in the hotel room for that matter.

"That bastard ran off without eating!" I said out loud, quite angry, and slightly amused at his feeble attempt to run off without eating. I'd hunt him down. I think.

Going into the living room, I noticed that Kurama was sitting down in the same couch with the same book, his feet crossed at the ankles and a faint smile could be traced. He glanced up upon hearing me and smiled and looked towards the food.

"Hey Kurama!" I said happily, placing the food on the coffee table. I wanted to cuddle up next to him, but I didn't want to appear too forward, that would be bad. Kurama seemed to notice this, because he immediately drew me in closer, but gently.

"So that's who I heard at the door," he said helping himself to the donut. I nodded and clutched his shirt like a small child.

"Yelpers! Where exactly is everyone?" I asked. Kurama paused for a second to think, and then answered.

"I believe Hiei left around five minutes ago, and Yusuke and Kuwabara headed off somewhere," he said. I raised an eyebrow; those guys didn't.

"Without breakfast?" I asked sternly. Kurama gulped, knowing he'd just given Hiei away to a whole hell of a lot of screaming, something he too would pay for later. Kurama's silence was answer enough, so I hopped up and told him I'd return when I found Hiei and made him eat his breakfast!

It didn't take long for me to run towards the woods, with the donuts tucked underneath my arms and my feet flying across the ground, time wasn't an issue. I had a vague idea where Hiei would be residing; he was actually pretty easy to read, despite what most people tried to say. Hiei had a thing for cliffs and bluffs, and since there was only two major cliffs on the island, I headed for the nearest one. He wasn't there. But I stopped to take in the beauty of it all. It was, it was rather pretty, despite the bloodlust and horror that took place on this island apparent by its name.

The morning sun glimmered on the open waters, as the transparent waves crashed against the rocks below. I scanned the rocks beneath me, trying to find my short, probably black clad friend. He wasn't there either. I guess I was on the wrong side of the island. But I knew he was by one of the cliffs, I just knew it. Hiei was someone who liked to be alone, especially when injured. Even though he'd tried to play it off like it was nothing, I could see that that attack from yesterday had done a lot more to him then he would like to let on. I really wanted to make sure he at least ate something, then hopefully try to bandage that wound of his, I really didn't want it to get infected or anything. But I wasn't going to be discouraged; I just had to use my spirit powers to sniff him out! I sat down, cross legged and focused my energy into the nature around me and concentrated on what Hiei's aura felt like. He was close, but I was right, he was by the other cliff.

"Hey Kit," I jumped; standing behind me was a messy haired Yusuke. I slowly turned around; I still felt awkward, even though he didn't know that I'd seen him and Keiko. Last night didn't count, since I was out of it, but this morning, after realizing exactly what had happened…

"O! Hi…Yusuke, hey, have you seen Hiei? The little bugger ran off without breakfast, and I know he's training so I really want to make sure that eats something to give him energy," I said, hoping I sounded casual and especially not nervous. I, I also hoped that this negated any form of question he was originally going to ask me. If he answered this, then I could head off and then everything will be okay. No strange questions, nothing that I would later regret. But, I don't think it was because I was afraid of what Yusuke was going to ask, but rather, I was afraid of what I would answer. I was afraid that I was lying to myself and that I still liked him, I feared that. But he confirmed my fears as he shook his head and walked towards me.

Shit.

"Hey Kit, mind if I talk to you?" he asked, sitting down on the lush grass right outside of the rock. He was close, but he still kept a distance, that was grateful for. He didn't look at me, and I too, avoided his gaze, but I nodded, and did not move.

"Sure, what about?" Yusuke was silent for a second, but then he gripped the grass and looked me in the eye.

"I…I heard you're with Kurama," it was more of a question than a statement, but regardless, I was still taken back. What did it matter to him?

"Yah." What a gay response.

"You…you like him?"

"I wouldn't date him if I didn't."

Silence; why was I so jumpy with him? All of this was stupid, if he just wanted to know that, he could have asked Kurama. Why bother me?

"Kit…do you…do you like anyone else?" I flinched at that remark; who the fuck told him that?! I grinded my teeth and clenched my fists.

"If I did, it's none of your business!" I barked, suddenly becoming angrier than I thought I would. Yusuke didn't look at me.

"I'm…I'm just asking; if that person, supposedly asked you out, in theory, right here and now, what would you say?

"I'd say no!" I screamed, Yusuke surprised at the quickness of my response. "I mean, my decision is made, why would I say yes to someone else when I already said yes to another? Besides, there was reasons behind my decision, and I don't think I would throw away that option if I thought that guy liked someone other than me!" I covered, still hurt from seeing him and Keiko.

Yusuke looked puzzled, "So that person did something that made you think they didn't like you?" he asked.

I was so frustrated; what was with these questions?

"Listen, I don't appreciate the questions you're asking me! I'm dating Kurama, end of story!" I screamed, not realizing that I was crying.

Yusuke was frustrated too, by the looks of it.

"What the fuck did I do that made you think that!" he screamed back, but then quickly clamped his hand over his mouth. Did he just…

He did, didn't he?

Suddenly I was crying, uncontrollably, shaking and convulsing. Yusuke quickly tried to approach me, but I pushed him away, violently.

"Don't touch me!"

He'd known. He'd known that I liked him, and yet, I was so stupid. I was, I was completely and utterly stupid. I think I just won the award for the first brunette who was blond inside the womb and born brown.

"Kit…"

"What is your problem?! Go away, just get away from me! I hate you Yusuke! I fucking hate you!" I couldn't control what I was saying anymore. I knew what I was saying wasn't true, but I felt so stupid that I couldn't help but take my anger out of somebody else. I was still crying. But Yusuke, he was too understanding; he could tell that I was being dumb, so again, he tried to reach forward and comfort me. And I again, pushed him away and started to run. Run like I'd never run before.

It was like when I saw him and Keiko together. It seemed I was always running, running away from Yusuke, running away from my fears, running away from everything.

Coward.

But while I was running a small rock got in my path, and I tripped, like the clumsy ass I was, flew, while landing flat on my fast. I could taste the dirt accumulating in my mouth mixing with the saltiness of my tears. I started hammering the ground, and curled up into the fetal position.

"Kit?" I looked up to see a topless Hiei with his arms folded across his chest, his right arm black from the burns, his brow furrowed with worried. He kneeled down and before he knew it I had collapsed in his arms, my tears overflowing.

"Hiei…"

************************

It didn't take long for Hiei to find Yusuke, who just like Kit had claimed, was sitting with his legs crossed and his eyes seemingly distant, off into the sea. He didn't know why, but looking at Yusuke, and his nonchalant nature, while Kit was crying her eyes until puffy red, pissed him off. So much that instead of calling him to get his attention, he picked up a rock, gripping it in his hand then chucking it at the back of Yusuke's head; sweet satisfaction arose from Hiei as Yusuke flinched and some blood spurted from in between the fibers of his hair.

"What the hell—o, Hiei," he's voice faded, his voice no longer hyper and cheery, but sallow and meek.

"I don't appreciate what you're doing. I was under the impression that when I told you that bit of information you weren't going to start spouting off to Kit like an idiot!" he spat. Yusuke didn't turn to look at him.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about, just leave me alone," he answered, but he still didn't look at him. Hiei stormed forward, grabbed Yusuke by the shoulder, spun him around and punched him square in the jaw. Yusuke flew a few feet, regained balance, but then his legs gave way and he collapsed onto the grass.

"And here I thought you were smarter than that!" Hiei spat. Utilizing his punch with harsh words, he hoped some sense would wander into Yusuke's seemingly empty head. Yusuke reached for his raw cheek, and felt the spattered blood on the side of his lips. He sprang to his feet and attempted to confront Hiei.

"Listen! I tried to apologize, or say something but she just kept screaming at me!"

"Because she's upset you moron! One would think that—"

"So I can't be upset because the girl I like, likes me back, but had a misunderstanding that I couldn't even explain, so that gives Kurama the right to take her away from me?!"

"He didn't take her away from you, she took herself away!"

"Because of a misunderstanding!"

"She can't read your mind you idiot!"

Silence.

Hiei began to calm down as Yusuke absorbed the last sentence spoken. Apparently, in all of Yusuke's brilliance, he hadn't actually explain what

had gone on between him a Keiko. Turning his head away, Yusuke stared blankly at the ground.

"So what do I do now?" he asked quietly.

Shrugging, Hiei simply responded with, "Just leave her be. Don't avoid her, but let her and Kurama be. You can't alter what's already done and you can't take back words spoken."

Walking off, Hiei shook his head at the irony of it all; him, the antisocial one of the bunch, who'd never had a relationship, nor desired one, was giving everyone advice and comfort. He couldn't quite determine if that was a good or a bad thing.

****************************

Staring at the clump of chocolate in my hand, I crammed the last bit of it into my mouth; it wasn't a wonder that chocolate was an anti-depressant, I was feeling better already! I quickly ran into the hotel lobby, only to become distressed at how puppy and red my eyes had become, I rivaled that of a puffer fish in the ocean. Swell, I thought sarcastically, as I headed out. I definitely didn't want to go back to the forest, and certainly hanging around Botan's room would lead to disaster, for Keiko was bound to show up again, and that would drive me back into frustration. So I decided to go back to my own hotel room, where my prince was more than likely residing. He would make me feel better.

And sure enough, Kurama was lounging in the same sofa that I'd seen him in this morning, same book at hand, still reading.

"That must be a very interesting book," I commented with a half assed attempt at a joke. My way of trying to seem normal.

"Indeed, it's a murder novel, though I must say it's rather disappointing that the murderer is slightly obvious," he replied, placing the book down on his lap. Then his expression of content transformed into a more curious expression.

"Have…have you been crying?" he inquired.

Fuck.

"Uh…" I didn't want to lie, that was the last thing I wanted to do. "Yah, but I'm okay now, I promise," I was better, so I wasn't lying in that sense. I just, I didn't quite want to have this discussion with Kurama quite yet (if at all, if that was even an option). He raised his eyebrows, but then rose to his feet and then swept me up gently into his arms before he sat back down.

"You…you can tell me anything, you know that right?" he whispered softly, tenderly toying with my hair. I nodded, but then buried my face in the warmth of his chest. I could feel his hand stroking my head, like a mother would a child.

"Do you wish to sleep?" he asked, starting to lay out with me clutching his shirt, still cuddled close.

"Yah…"


End file.
